Robert De Niro, Martin Scorcese and Patti Smith fight to save Elizabeth Street Garden

Big Apple celebrities Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese and Patti Smith have joined the fight to save the decades-old Elizabeth Street Garden from being torn down to make way for affordable senior housing.

The three cultural icons wrote letters this summer imploring Mayor Eric Adams to change and maintain the leafy green haven and sculpture garden in the heart of Nolita.

“The garden is not only an oasis of green space in our city, it is truly a work of art,” wrote Smith, 77, who performed in the green space to raise awareness of its demise imminent, he wrote in his letter of August 14. .

“Our great city is in danger of becoming an unregulated developer’s paradise, and we look to you to help us set a lasting precedent for how New York will protect public art and green spaces for the future.”

The trio’s latest demands were made public on Thursday just three weeks ahead of the estimated September 10 demolition date.

The project — which would replace the 20,000-square-foot sculpture garden with 123 units of affordable housing for seniors — has endured years of bitter litigation and public outcry, but Adams has the power to stop construction before bulldozers break ground.

Oscar-winning legends Scorsese and De Niro, both 81, grew up in Little Italy and have produced numerous films inspired by the neighborhood’s rough and tumble past — including the 1973 classic Mean Streets.

“When I was growing up, Little Italy was more or less a concrete jungle. We were playing in the alleys. There was no shade, no greenery, no respite – something every neighborhood needs. The make-up of Little Italy may be different, but the need for a beautiful and refreshing oasis like Elizabeth Street Garden has not changed. I wish I had been there when I was young,” Scorsese wrote in his July 22 letter.

De Niro pointed to the creation of the Tribeca Film Festival as his dedication to revitalizing Manhattan’s character, and argued that destroying fixtures like the garden would undo the work he and countless other artists have contributed over the decades.

“I support increasing the availability of affordable housing (community leaders have identified alternative sites for development), but I am also passionate about preserving the character of our neighborhoods,” De Niro wrote in his letter to the mayor.

“Taking away Elizabeth Street Gardens is erasing part of our city’s unique history and cultural heritage.”

To drive his message home, rock’n’roll legend Smith wielded his Key to New York, given to him by incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2021.

“Mr. Mayor, my key is in your hands. You have the power to give our garden the right to stay,” the “Gloria” singer said.

The pleas of New York stars fell on deaf ears, however – a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development emphasized that plans to demolish the park will go ahead as planned.

“The fight for this land highlights how difficult it can be to build affordable housing, especially in neighborhoods that offer strong economic opportunity, but HPD and the Adams administration are not deterred,” the spokesperson said.

“We look forward to providing new affordable housing for older New Yorkers and will continue to advance projects in every corner of the city to address the severe housing shortage that is causing this affordable housing crisis.”

Senior artists aren’t the only senior citizens who have publicly advocated for Adams to reconsider the neighborhood change project — last month, more than 130 senior citizens petitioned to stop the project.

The gray-haired garden enthusiasts ceremoniously waived their eligibility for future affordable housing units, claiming the garden was too central to their quality of life to lose.

The green space – originally the site of a school 120 years ago and converted into a sculpture garden in 1990 – gives them a rare patch of grass undisturbed by recreational sports or playground noise.

Its destruction would represent a devastating loss of quality of life for residents “in our remaining years,” the seniors wrote.

The garden could be evacuated as early as September 10.