NIMBYS MAKE NOISE: Despite accusations by area residents, Forest Hills Stadium claims to be a good neighbor. (Getty Images)
Pro-Venue People Petition In Favor
Squabbles between local residents and outdoor venues over noise and trespassing are commonplace. But Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York, is taking the fight directly to its cadre of ardent fans asking them to sign a “Petition of Support” in response to a recent lawsuit.
“Forest Hills Stadium has been a part of the fabric of Queens for decades, but it is now being threatened with a frivolous lawsuit and is at risk of being shut down,” stated the petition appeal from the stadium. “Please help show local representatives in government that the community and the people they serve love and support Forest Hills Stadium.”
The response has been overwhelming with more than 21,000 people showing their enthusiasm for the venue with 60 percent of the signatures from people in the stadium’s zip code of 11375. The initial outreach concentrated on local and community partners and has since grown to touring artists and their fanbases.
“What we wanted to do was to make sure that the community was aware that there was this group of individuals – and I’m going to call it a negligible amount of people – that are against the stadium, that are looking to stop the shows,” said stadium spokesperson John PL Kelly, who calls the response to the petition “validating.”
The goal was to credibly gauge the community’s desire to keep the stadium open and hosting concerts, which number about 30 annually including King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Pitbull, Dom Dolla, Porter Robinson and Omar Apollo in the next 30 days. Tennis will be returning to the distinctive bowl with Ultimate Tennis Showdown on August 23.
Despite accusations by area residents, Forest Hills Stadium claims to be a good neighbor.
Concerts end at 10 p.m. Cleaners work the streets before, during and after shows. The Venue has made a substantial investment in noise mitigation and controlled amplification. Local bars and restaurants are highlighted on the venue’s website to drive customers to local businesses and promote green initiatives.
The venue also pays for holiday lights on nearby Austin Street.
“We are an engaged neighbor,” said Kelly. “There is a lot of passive love out there for the stadium. We hear it every day. We hear it on the street. And we hear from people who go to the shows.”
The 101-year-old Romanesque stadium has been the home of the superstars of tennis and music. America’s first tennis stadium was constructed for the U.S. Open in 1923 and has hosted groundbreaking players, including Black athletes Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson, whose Grand Slam wins broke the sport’s color barrier; and some of mainstream music’s most iconic moments, including The Beatles, who arrived by helicopter in 1964; Bob Dylan who played the stadium shortly after going electric at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965; and Jimi Hendrix who was still an emerging talent when he was booed after opening for The Monkees in 1967.
After sitting idle for decades, the 13,000-cap stadium was updated in 2013 with a number of modern upgrades and has since welcomed a new slate of diverse superstars with sell-out performances by Drake, Dolly Parton, Mumford and Sons, The Alabama Shakes, Ed Sheeran and many more.
At the forefront of the current rebirth is Tiebreakers Productions, who took over managing the then-dormant stadium from the West Side Tennis Club in 2013 and has a lease with the WSTC through 2032. The stadium resides within the footprint of the Tennis Club, which is located within private Forest Hills Gardens.
In the recent lawsuit the Forest Hills Garden Corporation is suing West Side Tennis Club, the landlord of the stadium, over the stadium’s negative impact on residents. At least three different lawsuits were filed in 2023. A judge ruled in May that the summer concert season could go on with the noise level monitored. But complaints continued to rise above the music.
The petition implored: “If you love Forest Hills Stadium … if you love the music, the history, the singular space … if you believe the venue belongs here and should continue with our mission, PLEASE SAY IT OUT LOUD!”
“I don’t know the final outcome or what the other side wants,” explained Kelly. “We just want to continue to do what we do. So really its about having evidence for our own heads that we are here for the right reasons…And we know that we have a group of people who are engaged and care.”
