Forest Hills Tennis Club, Residents Clash Over Concerts

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — The club that owns Forest Hills Stadium is grappling with the negative feedback from a group of residents in the neighborhood who want to implement traffic restrictions during concerts this summer.

The West Side Tennis Club sent a letter to its members last week after Forest Hills residents blocked the roadway during the Head in the Clouds festival on May 20, causing disruptions in the neighborhood during the busy weekend at the music venue.

"This private security force closed a number of streets that have not been closed for concerts in previous years, including the streets serviced via Ascan Ave," Layosh Toth, the club's general manager, wrote in a letter to members. "We want to make sure the membership knows that this was not done by the Club, the concert promoters nor the NYPD."

The nonprofit Forest Hills Gardens Corporation threatened to close Burns Street to pedestrians, the only safe walkway into the stadium from Station Square to Forest Hills Stadium during concerts. The group also filed a lawsuit against the stadium's owners, claiming the concerts are violating residential zoning in the community.

The owners of the venue, which doubles as a tennis stadium, filed a restraining order against the nonprofit amid the threat.

Concerned Citizens of Forest Hills, another residents group, is gaining signatures for a letter asking city officials to allow members of the neighborhood cohort to attend meetings regarding the concerts.

"It is not acceptable for city officials, the concert promoters, or the West Side Tennis Club to make decisions about the concerts without input from representatives of the neighborhood most directly affected by these events," reads the letter.

The group of residents is also demanding Forest Hills Stadium limit the number of concerts, end all shows at 10 p.m., and limit the noise level.

Forest Hills Stadium is poised to host more than two dozen events this year as the venue celebrates its 100th anniversary.