West Side Tennis Stadium denied landmark hearing

Though it’s a landmark in the eyes of some residents, the West Side Tennis Stadium was denied further consideration as an individual city landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
In a letter to supporters dated May 3, the Commission stated that while it “found that the building does have some historic significance related to cultural and historic events …” it could not grant landmark status due to “the deteriorated state of the building’s architectural features.”
Originally called the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, it was the original home of the U.S. Open and also hosted the annual Forest Hills Music Festival. The festival itself featured groundbreaking musical acts such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix.
However, the building’s poor condition was enough to outweigh its rich history. Michael Perlman, chairman of the Rego-Forest Preservation Council, said the Commission is wrong to deny a landmark hearing for any building because of its structural condition.
“By not calendaring a public hearing for the historic Forest Hills Tennis Stadium on local to international levels, this proves the Commission’s dereliction of public duty, and of the architectural and cultural provisions of the Landmark Law,” he said. “The Landmark Law does not reference a site’s condition as a means for rejecting a public hearing.”
Perlman went on to name buildings needing major repairs in Manhattan and Brooklyn that were calendared, heard and eventually landmarked.
In October of last year, Cord Meyer Development’s proposal to build condos and demolish a majority of the stadium was rejected by the West Side Tennis Club.
The Rego-Forest Preservation Council plans to continue advocating for city, state and federal landmark status while also looking to receive funding for restoration.