Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Queens borough president accuses Forest Hills group of racism over blocked concert permits
By
Samir Ferdowsi
Published Apr 2, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images
By
Samir Ferdowsi
Published Apr 2, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards accused a group of Queens residents of racism for blocking concert permits at one of the city’s most popular music venues, saying their efforts to shut down summer shows at Forest Hills Stadium reeked of bias and exclusion.
The Forest Hills Garden Corporation has been locked in a fight with the West Side Tennis Club, which manages the stadium, saying concerts were loud and unruly. The FHGC's decision barred the NYPD from accessing certain streets in the neighborhood, preventing the department from approving the necessary permits ahead of the stadium’s summer concert schedule.
The dispute intensified after a hip-hop festival at the stadium in August, when Richards said he began to notice what he described as a pattern in the opposition’s complaints.
“There have been some racial undertones for a long time,” he said in an interview. “It was very apparent to me that maybe not everyone acknowledges or wants to see the sort of diversity that our borough is representative of.”
He added, “Yes, the audience was largely African American.”
The comments came after Richards posted similar sentiments on X this week.
“Just mad black people are in your community for concerts,” he said. “We don’t respond to racism!!!”
Richards told Gothamist the stadium had taken extensive measures to address the community's sound concerns.
Mike Luba, who heads Tiebreaker Productions, the stadium’s concert partner, echoed that point, saying the venue has invested more than $1 million in soundproofing since 2013 and works to end shows by 10 p.m. He called residents' complaints exaggerated, but said they continue to be taken seriously.
As it stands, the stadium is moving forward with concert prep and isn't planning to scratch the shows. It blames a “NIMBY” minority for the setbacks.
An attorney for the West Side Tennis Club previously said the venue is still preparing for the 2025 concert season despite the permit freeze. He accused a “vocal NIMBY minority” of trying to shut the stadium down and “kill the music,” and insisted the shows would go on.
The FHGC insisted it was not being racist, but trying to live in peace.
“Dismissing residents’ concerns as the complaints of a ‘minute number of frustrated individuals’ is both inaccurate and disrespectful, particularly when coming from an elected political representative,” FHGC representative Sandra Mandell said in a statement to Gothamist, quoting from a recent letter Richards sent Mayor Eric Adams. “Thousands of residents experience the real and measurable effects of excessive noise, littering, crowding, street closures and public safety challenges. These concerns deserve to be heard and addressed, not belittled.”
Richards also took aim at the core of the permit dispute: the fact that a private group can restrict NYPD access to events.
“My question is: Why do we have private streets in our city?” Richards said. “Because guess what. People on these same private streets, when they call 911, the police department has to show up.”
Richards said the concerts, which began in the 1960s, are essential to Queens and its economy.
“I have thousands of people coming into Queens via transportation or driving and they’re spending their money in Queens,” Richards said. “We want everybody to have access to a good job and a career opportunity right here in our borough. This stadium provides that opportunity.”
The borough president said he understands how large crowds can create commotion in the area during concert days. But he said he believes the vast majority of Queens residents want the concerts to continue, including those living next door to the venue and others who live on the other side of the borough.
“It’s a concert experience you won’t get going to the Barclays Center,” Richards said. “We’ve done a lot of work to expand the cultural and music scene in Queens.”
Tagged
queens
public safety
Samir Ferdowsi
Samir is a day-of reporter on the general assignment and breaking news desk. Previously Samir was a reporter, host and producer at VICE News.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .