Patti Smith is among several well-known New York City celebrities who have joined a campaign seeking to preserve a public sculpture garden in Manhattan’s Little Italy neighborhood that’s scheduled to be demolished soon.
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A developer is planning to build an affordable housing for the elderly on the site of Elizabeth Street Garden. Smith and others who are part of the initiative, however, feel the garden is too important to the local community and insist that there are better locations available for the housing project.
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The lauded musician, poet, and author told Page Six that Elizabeth Street Garden has served as a creative refuge for her, noting that she’s done a lot of writing there.
“I’ve written poems there. … It’s a good place just to think and contemplate,” the 77-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer shared. She also noted, “I’m working on a book. It’s a work in progress and when I was in the garden I was writing about my mother.”
She continued, “Sometimes I’ve improvised poetry with my daughter [Jesse] in the garden. It’s inspiring. But it’s also calming. Sometimes I might want to go to the garden not to work, but to exist—just to feel blessed by my surroundings.”
Smith revealed that her daughter also is very involved in the preservation initiative.
Other Celebrities Who Are Part of the Campaign
Filmmaker Martin Scorsese and legendary actor Robert De Niro are participating in the campaign to preserve the garden as well.
All three have written letters to New York City Mayor Eric Adams requesting him to help save the garden.
Smith’s letter reads, “The Garden is not only an oasis of green space within our city, but truly stands as a work of art. The effort to save it is reflective of a mass effort to preserve the natural and ever evolving character of New York City.”
According to Page Six, the garden could close as soon as September 10, and demolition could begin within a few weeks.
Smith Acknowledges the Importance of Housing for the Elderly
Smith told Page Six she realizes that providing adequate housing for the elderly in New York City is very important. Having said that, the artist noted that plenty of empty office and retail space existed in the city that could serve as housing sites.
She added, “And it must be said that many of the people who are concerned about losing the garden are the elderly. There are many elderly people who have said they’d forfeit the right to live in any new housing, if we would only save the garden.”
A website has been launched that focuses on the campaign to save Elizabeth Street Garden. The site, ElizabethStreetGarden.com, features links to send a letter to Mayor Adams and donate to a legal fund supporting the preservation of the garden. It also features information about potential alternative housing sites, how to volunteer for the cause, and more.
More Comments from Smith About Elizabeth Street Garden
Smith told Page Six about the importance of preserving green spaces like Elizabeth Street Garden in New York City.
“I’ve lived in the city off and on for over half a century, and these type of areas are fast diminishing,” she pointed out. “And they’re worth fighting for.”
Smith added, “It’s more than a garden. It’s really like a work of art. It’s like an art installation merging sculpture and nature and community—all three things in one place.”
Smith’s Upcoming Concert Plans
Smith has a variety of performances scheduled in Europe and the U.S. in the coming weeks. Her itinerary begins with a September 3 performance at the Ostia Antica Festival near Rome. She also will visit Mantua, Italy; Oxford, U.K.; London; and Grenada, Spain, that month.
Her U.S. schedule runs from a September 27 spoken-word event in Iowa City, Iowa, through a special performance with her musical friends on November in Kingston, New York. Check out her full confirmed schedule at PattiSmith.net.
Tickets for Smith’s shows can be purchased now via a variety of outlets, including StubHub.
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