The eviction of New York's popular Elizabeth Street Garden is put on hold as activists fight for “protection and preservation.”

Manhattan's beloved Elizabeth Street Garden received a lifeline Friday when a judge granted an eviction stay that green space activists had sought while they appealed the city's decision to build affordable housing on the site, the group said.

The appeal court's decision to pause the eviction and demolition of the Nolita site will further delay the city's plan to build the controversial Haven Green housing development – as garden organizers fight to keep the 20,000 square meter sculpture garden open.

“The Mayor and First Deputy Mayor may continue to choose to work with us to develop the private property proposal to provide needed affordable housing at no cost to the community,” garden activists posted on Instagram on Friday.

“We will continue to do everything we can to protect and preserve Elizabeth Street Garden.”

A move-out notice was served on the garden on Oct. 2 as Mayor Eric Adams' administration plans to pave it and build 123 affordable housing units for seniors on the site.

Organizers were initially told to clear the gardens by October 17.

A City Hall spokesman criticized garden activists' efforts to stop the eviction.

“With over 2,100 seniors sleeping in shelters tonight, the well-housed plaintiffs and attorneys behind Elizabeth Street Garden can rest easy tonight knowing they have prevented the city from providing affordable housing for seniors and residents for at least another month “To build public green spaces,” said the spokesman.

“We remain undeterred and will continue this decades-long fight for what is right and necessary – housing for some of our most vulnerable neighbors.”

While advocates — including Robert DeNiro, Martin Scorsese and Patti Smith — call the sculpture garden a crucial respite from hectic city life, the mayor has doubled down on his commitment to building affordable housing wherever he can.

Activists argue that the affordable housing units developed by Pennrose Properties will not be permanently affordable and will revert to market rate in 30 to 60 years.

However, the council expects that the initial affordability restrictions will remain in place for 60 years and that the rent on the property will be stabilized in perpetuity, with the open spaces on the development site also being permanently accessible to the public.

The plan also calls for retail space and 11,200 square feet of office space on the ground floor, with Habitat for Humanity already tapped as an anchor tenant. The plans also include a 15-acre space next to the building.

The case is currently scheduled for appeal in February 2025, organizers said.