Over 22,000 people have signed a petition expressing their support for keeping Forest Hills Stadium open amid a lawsuit that threatens to end concerts at the historic venue.
The Change.org petition was started by the stadium’s operators last month and has since garnered the community support they were initially seeking. The supporters argue that the historically rich venue, which is over a hundred years old, provides more benefits than harm to Forest Hills and the broader NYC community.
However, in several lawsuits against the stadium since 2023, nearby residents say that as concerts increased in regularity, their quality of life deteriorated. They allege excessive noise that shakes their homes, concertgoers trespassing, and trash left behind.
The venue denies the ‘bad neighbor’ claim and says it is dedicated to the community. It is calling one particular lawsuit, which seeks to end concerts for good, “frivolous” and not aligned with the majority.
“If you’ve been there, you already know: the scene is amazing, but so are the jobs, the economic impact, and the joy the venue creates and delivers,” reads the petition.
The operators say they ensure all concerts end by 10 p.m. and have spent hundreds of thousands on noise mitigation efforts. They also deploy cleaning crews before, during and after their shows to ensure the neighborhood is kept clean despite thousands of people walking through the residential streets to enter the stadium.
The petition was also flooded with comments from those who explained why they support the stadium living.
“I am signing this petition because I am sick and tired of wealthy New Yorkers treating minor inconveniences as major problems. This stadium has existed before anyone living in Forest Hills Gardens was alive,” wrote Michael Rooney in one comment. “If they didn’t want to live next to a stadium, they could have moved literally anywhere else in NYC.”
Other Forest Hills residents chimed in to support the stadium and dispel claims that living in proximity to it threatens their way of life.
“I’ve lived in FH when the stadium hosted the US Open. I’ve lived in FH while the stadium sat silent, decaying and sad. I’ve lived in FH as the stadium has been revitalized and come back to life. Living in FH is better when the stadium is full of life,” wrote John Suzuki.
Now that the stadium is halfway through its 2024 season, several big acts remain on the calendar through the end of October. That includes the All Things Go Festival in September, which will be headlined by Chappell Roan, who has drawn record-breaking crowds this summer.
In one lawsuit led by Concerned Citizens of Forest Hills, the judge ordered the stadium to continue noise mitigation efforts in compliance with the NYPD and the Department of Environmental Protection in April before the season kicked off. But that case, along with another led by a local Co-op group, remains active and open in the Queens Supreme Court.
“Please help show local representatives in government that the community and the people they serve love and support Forest Hills Stadium,” the petition rallied.
