An Open Letter to Mayor Adams and Candidates concerning Elizabeth Street Garden

An Open Letter to Mayor Adams and the Mayoral and City Council Candidates:

Our NYC-based literature group, Quixotic Book Club of New York City, was founded online during the depths of COVID lockdown. It was amazing how, during such a difficult time to be social, our group took on an enduring and powerful growth trajectory, bringing together people who love literature from around NYC, coupled with people from around the world who want to discuss literature with NYC readers.

Our little group of a dozen readers set out to read Miguel de Cervantes’ masterpiece, Don Quixote, in July 2020 and swelled to over 1,700 members around the world over the past 5 years.

Why was this?

Two reasons:

1. Because of the passion, intellectual honesty, diversity of opinion, and openness of the members of the group - as new readers found us, they liked what they heard and came back.
2. Because of the “New York City” in the name of the group.

Expanding on the second point, readers, writers, artists, classicists, intellectuals, and scholars from around the world see “New York City” and think of an iconic place of culture and thought leadership.

As lockdown restrictions eased, our vibrant online group experienced a flourishing in person as we regularly met to discuss literature in Elizabeth Street Garden at the small table under the awning.

While there are plenty of reasons to keep the beloved Garden and its tranquil green space available to New Yorkers, our group highlights one critical reason; places like Elizabeth Street Garden, support the cultural fabric of NYC, making it a special place to live and a special community to be a part of. It would be deeply misguided to destroy a beautiful green space (in a centralized neighborhood with few alternatives available) that has been open to groups like ours seeking intellectual enrichment in a welcoming public space. The Quixotic Book Club of New York City strongly supports the Elizabeth Street Garden’s proposal that preserves the Garden and achieves more affordable housing for those in need.

https://www.elizabethstreetgarden.com/proposal

Matthew Vigneau
Quixotic Book Club Founder
https://www.meetup.com/quixotic-book-club-of-new-york-city/
June 2025