McLaughlin & Stern Helps Secure Preservation of Elizabeth Street Garden
NEW YORK, August, 2026 – McLaughlin & Stern LLP attorneys Steven Hyman and Oliver Chernin helped secure the preservation of Elizabeth Street Garden, bringing a successful conclusion to a years-long legal and community effort to protect the beloved Lower Manhattan green space.
The dispute over Elizabeth Street Garden has a lengthy history, beginning with challenges under New York environmental laws and proceeding through multiple courts. Hyman and Chernin joined longtime Garden attorney Norman Siegel in representing Elizabeth Street Garden and helped develop the legal strategy that ultimately contributed to its preservation.
The resolution follows the Adams administration’s decision to designate the site as permanent public parkland. The developers behind the previously planned affordable housing project subsequently dropped their lawsuit challenging the City’s decision, bringing the long-running dispute over the Garden’s future to a close. Plans for affordable housing are expected to move forward at an alternative Lower Manhattan site.
“We are proud to have worked alongside Norman Siegel and the many people who fought for years to protect Elizabeth Street Garden,” said Hyman. “This outcome preserves an important community space for generations of New Yorkers to come.”
Elizabeth Street Garden will remain a public green space serving the surrounding Lower Manhattan community.