NEW YORK — Two layers of windows plus blinds and curtains are the closest thing to soundproofing in Marty Levinson’s house.
“It’s boom, boom, boom, and the windows start rattling,” he said.
The warmer weather has brought a concert season at nearby Forest Hills Stadium, a 13,000-capacity outdoor venue that’s more than a century old and the former site of the U.S. Open.
Levinson, who has lived a block away since the 1960s, says the volume of the music has gotten out of hand.
‘It’s disturbing, for example [that] Some of our neighbors have sold their homes,” he said.
Community groups want the volume turned down
Excessive noise is the focus of an ongoing legal battle between some community groups and the West Side Tennis Club, home to the Forest Hills Stadium concert venue. In a new request for an injunction, the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation is asking the court to silence or completely shut down the music in the stadium.
The group’s attorney told CBS New York:
“In December 2024, FHGC filed a motion with the court for a preliminary injunction regarding the 2025 season. The court has already ruled in FHGC’s favor twice on broad public and private nuisance claims. And the summer of 2024 was worse than ever, as even the NYC DEP has found multiple violations and that is why FHGC is seeking a ban on concerts or limits on activities to (1) require compliance with the noise code (2) a ban on unauthorized commercial concert operations on private streets; and (3) restrictions on concerts during the school year. Note: FHGC is not involved in any litigation with the NYPD. Neither the NYPD nor the City are parties to the lawsuit with the Club and there is no damages requested in court relate to police operations.”
Concert hall ‘wants to be a good neighbor’
West Side Tennis Club attorney Akiva Shapiro emphasizes that the stadium works with the community and is largely beloved.
“The stadium has spent millions of dollars implementing noise abatement measures over the past decade. It wants to be a good neighbor,” Shapiro said.
Stadium spokesman John Kelly calls it an iconic monument that has survived for a reason.
“If you think about the history of the joint, you have Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Harry Belafonte and the Beatles,” he said.
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