A lawsuit filed against Forest Hills Stadium is calling for the operators to stop holding concerts at the historic open-air venue, citing a deterioration in the quality of life for nearby residents.
The Forest Hills Gardens Corporation, a board that represents 900 properties on 175 acres, filed suit in July 2023 against West Side Tennis Club, which leased the stadium to Tiebreaker Productions until 2031. The lawsuit alleges that the venue’s concerts are excessively loud, causing nearby homes to vibrate and disturb residents late into the evening.
The FHGC complaint has the backing of many residents, 15 of which filed affidavits in support. Their qualms center around a reduction in their quality of life as the number of concerts increased. This past 2023 season, there were a record of 30 shows held at the stadium. Some residents, who provided affidavits in support to the suit, also complain that concertgoers are trespassing on their properties often to urinate, or have thrown up in their building’s vestibule.
Among those who are seeking to bring an end to shows at the stadium are board members from Tennis View Apartments, who recently joined the FHGC suit. Residents of the complex, which includes two apartment buildings on Burns Street leading up to the entrance of the stadium, argue they bear the brunt of the inconveniences. For instance, their street gets closed down and barricades go up on concert and festival days resulting in thousands of attendees passing the building to enter the stadium conveniently.
But some residents at the Tennis View Apartments, who cherish the concerts in their backyard despite inconveniences, say that they were not informed prior to their board joining the suit. They are unhappy that the board essentially filed suit in their name.
“There are some people that really don’t like concerts, and they’re acting for themselves and not for the majority, because the majority of our building was never asked. We were never…
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