BY SARAH FERGUSON | Fearing development could be imminent, members of the Children’s Magical Garden are calling on the community to help them maintain a “24-hour watch” on this beloved green haven on the corner of Stanton and Norfolk Sts.
Last month, the city’s Department of Buildings approved plans filed by the Horizon Group for a six-story, six-unit residential building to be built on the garden’s center lot.
D.O.B. quickly placed a hold on its approval after gardeners notified the department of a lawsuit they filed last March contesting the ownership of the lot by 157 LLC, a legal entity connected to Horizon. But that hold was lifted on Thursday — clearing the way for the developer to move forward with getting permits to build.
Early Friday morning, C.M.G. members held a press conference urging D.O.B to reinstate the hold — at least until the gardeners’ legal case arguing their rights to the site, on the grounds of “adverse possession,” can be heard in court.
“We’re calling the Buildings Department to put the job on hold and disallow any building activity,” said C.M.G. treasurer Dave Currence. “We think it’s pretty reasonable at bare minimum to put the job on hold so a judge can hear the merits of our case.”
According to D.O.B. spokesperson Kelly Magee: “A temporary hold was in effect to allow the department time to conduct a detailed review of the site plans and ownership records for the property. The plans were approved on April 7, and the hold was removed.”
Although the plans were approved, permits for construction have not been issued by D.O.B., so Horizon cannot build on the site yet, Magee said.
“We’re here to say that we are the caretakers and rightful owners of this land,” said Kate Temple-West, who was surrounded by young children sporting Robin Hood caps and homemade bows and arrows.
Last March, Temple-West and other C.M.G. members filed an adverse possession case against 157 LLC and the lot’s previous owner, Serge Hoyda, arguing that the land they and others in the community tended for more than 30 years belongs to the garden. Hoyda and 157 LLC have both filed motions to dismiss C.M.G.’s claims. A court date has yet to be set, as both sides volley with legal papers, leaving C.M.G. members fearing that Horizon could try to pre-empt a legal fight by bringing in bulldozers.
Their fears were amplified last week when members noticed “ominous” construction symbols spray-painted on the sidewalk perimeter of the garden and on the wall of the adjacent tenement — as if someone were preparing to fence off the site for building.
Citing the lawsuit, Horizon did not respond to requests for comment on its plans, or why it chose to develop this particular parcel on the Lower East Side in the first place. The plans on file with D.O.B. show a 40-foot-deep building with a 30-foot backyard lying adjacent to the garden’s two other lots, which were given GreenThumb protection last year.
