Supporters warn of chaos if Forest Hills Stadium loses summer concerts: Nothing short of a travesty

Queens civic leaders issued a dire warning about what the loss of summer concerts at Forest Hills Stadium would mean for the area — calling the possibility “nothing short of a travesty.”Tom Grech, president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, joined local businesses and music lovers to back the iconic venue after The Post revealed that the NYPD wouldn’t issue noise amplification permits for the 2025 season.“The decision to deny Forest Hills Stadium the necessary permits to host its summer concert series is nothing short of a travesty — one that will have severe economic and cultural consequences for Forest Hills and beyond,” Grech said in a statement Monday.“For more than a decade, Forest Hills Stadium has been a catalyst for economic growth, a steward of our community, and a world-class venue that has brought joy to thousands,” he said.“Shutting it down for the summer is an enormous loss for local businesses, the hundreds of workers who rely on the stadium for jobs, and the concertgoers who make Forest Hills a destination.”The stadium on the West Side Tennis Club’s property is in the center of the wealthy Queens neighborhood — and just one block away from the busy, restaurant-lined Austin Street.

It neighbors residential neighborhoods where locals say the noise can be heard for miles.Although Grech didn’t name the “small, vocal group” he blamed for jeopardizing the venue’s future, the Forest Hills Garden Corporation successfully pressured the NYPD into withholding permits by denying the department permission to close privately owned streets around the stadium.The homeowners’ group has long maintained that its members’ lives have been upended by the increasingly loud concerts blaring into their backyards and reverberating through their walls — but Grech claimed the number of residents who support the stadium is far greater than the number annoyed by it.“The idea that a handful of individuals can wield this kind of ou...