Forest Hills Stadium is reportedly unable to host summer concerts after the venue’s sound amplification permits were denied by the New York Police Department, in light of a longstanding feud between Forest Hill Garden Corporation and West Side Tennis Club, The New York Post said.
Disagreements between Forest Hills Garden Corporation, the local area’s membership organization responsible for the maintenance and overall well-being of its residents, and West Side Tennis Club, the stadium’s operator, began post-COVID, when residents started to file lawsuits against the stadium for its inconveniences. After FHGC decided access to private roads surrounding the venue to the city, the NYPD informed the stadium operator that this block prevented them from ensuring public safety, resulting in the denial of the stadium’s sound amplification permit for this summer season.
In an exclusive letter obtained by The Post, the NYPD noted this decision, saying that they hope FHGC and West Side Tennis Club can come to a resolution so music performances over the summer can continue.
In an interview with The Post, Sandra Mandell, who has lived a half mile from the stadium for the past decade, pointed out the structure of the stadium and its prevalent issues with surrounding residents.
“This is an open-air stadium that is smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood, it butts up to homes, it butts up to buildings – that music is being pumped into people’s living rooms for hours at a time,” Mandell said.
“Imagine what somebody that lives right outside of the concerts hears? I know people who have tiles vibrate off the roof.”
Mandell notes that these issues did not become apparent pre-COVID, where the stadium hosted slightly more than a dozen performances a year, but only recently of the past five years, where the venue hosted 36 concerts last summer. Mandell calls this drastic jump in performances “unprecedented” and “unsustainable” for the neighborhood.
In previous coverage by The Post, many Forest Hills residents noted physical damage done to their property because of the stadium’s sound amplifications, such as cracks in plaster, rattling windows and vibrating walls. Other issues said by the neighborhood include negative impacts on school grades and elderly residents needing to remove their hearing aids on a regular basis.
The Tennis Club said that the NYPD’s denial of their sound amplification permits are “rumors,” and that the club had not heard of anything from the NYPD themselves. The Club also noted that last year’s summer concerts all ended before 10 p.m.
“Neither the Stadium’s owner nor operator have received any communication from the NYPD concerning sound permits, which have always been granted to the Stadium upon request,” said West Side Tennis Club attorney Akiva Shapiro.
Shapiro also said that the Club questions where such statements made by the NYPD emerged from and said that the Club finds these statements “extremely troubling.”
Despite recent discourse, FHGC reinstates that their decision does not aim to dismantle the venue, but rather push towards a mutually agreeable solution. For many Forest Hill residents and stadium visitors, Forest Hills Stadium has become an iconic venue with cherished memories.
“We remain committed to working with all stakeholders to find a balanced solution that addresses concert impacts while respecting our community,” FHGC president Anthony Oprisiu said in a statement obtained by The Post.
Forest Hills Stadium is currently expected to host 13 concerts this summer season, including artists Phish, The Black Keys, Leon Bridges and more. Without the permit, the venue will not be able to host such artists and guests.
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