To: Mayor Eric Adams, Councilmember Lynn Schulman, State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., District Attorney Melinda Katz, City Comptroller Brad Lander, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams

From: Citizens of Forest Hills 

We, the citizens of Forest Hills, are outraged that the West Side Tennis Club has been allowed to operate a commercial music business in an area zoned residential without obtaining the necessary variance or abiding by even the most reasonable restrictions.  Concerts have gone past 10 pm, have been held on school nights and major religious holidays, and sometimes go on all day long.  One lasted 10 hours.   

There is unbearable noise from the concerts themselves, rehearsals, sound checks, traffic, police cars,  Uber cars, trucks, and over 13,000 people who inundate Forest Hills for each event. This interrupts our normal lives beyond  any conceivable limits penetrating every house and damaging our health, houses, and lifestyle.  

The  level of noise regularly exceeds the limits set by the city’s noise code.  Moreover, the vibration from the music (low-frequency bass and sub-bass) affects our houses, causing  structures to tremble and shake.   

Heavy traffic and illegal parking make our streets dangerous to walk. The concertgoers not only take the  parking spaces on the street, but also park in front of hydrants and driveways. The rowdy behavior of some concertgoers, many of whom are drunk and/or on drugs,  is characterized by obscene language, littering, public urination, and screaming.  

It should be understood that even when a concert is scheduled for several hours,  the companion events that affect our lives occupy the whole day. Trucks of the concert  organizers and vendors start arriving  the night before. Sound checks (often louder  than the concerts themselves) can start in  the early morning and frequently continue for several hours until afternoon. Heavy traffic, with cars honking and searching for parking places, starts at 4-5pm. The crowds start gathering a couple of hours before the concert, wandering around, having drinks,  making noise, throwing beer cans on the sidewalk, and frequently being aggressive towards residents when they are asked to behave civilly. After  the concert, the crowd leaves the stadium, flocking on the streets again, and making noise, calling  and waiting for Ubers,  throwing beer cans, food scraps, etc. ,on the ground, until midnight. 

As a result, we cannot have a normal way of life: rest, sleep, relax, work, or simply concentrate. The  level of noise from the concerts and soundchecks can be so high that even with doors and windows closed,  it intrudes on activities within our homes, like having a normal conversation or watching tv.  For two years, the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has failed to regularly take in-home readings of noise levels (especially bass and one-third octave frequencies) and to enforce the noise code.

This nightmare for the citizens of Forest Hills happened  more than 30 times last year.   The West Side Tennis Club’s board has already approved 25 - 30 events for 2024.  These concerts represent a severe violation of our basic rights and the established laws of New York City. We ask you to stop this illegal activity immediately.