Sunday, April 19, 2015

Meeting Planned for this Tuesday to Discuss Stadium Concerts


A meeting will be held this Tuesday evening about the concerts at the Forest Hills Stadium. Here is an email that is being sent to some residents by a group called "Concerned Citizens of Forest Hills" about the upcoming meeting:
The Forest Hills stadium just announced its full summer schedule – 8 concerts, possibly nine.  (See dates and details below).

A meeting about the concerts will be held this coming Tuesday  (April 21) at 7:00 pm at Our Lady of Mercy, 70-01 Kessel Street.  The meeting has been organized by the 112th Precinct, and the promoters, tennis club representatives, and local politicians will be there.

We urge everyone to attend.

Concerned Citizens of Forest Hills does not oppose the concerts.  But the number of concerts is growing significantly each year, and there are currently no clear limits of any kind.  We believe that the impact on the neighborhood should be minimized, the city's noise code obeyed, and people in the neighborhood who want to attend the concerts should be consistently offered advance access to tickets.

Here are some things you should know:

Three concerts in one weekend –  According to the schedule just announced, there will be concerts on  May 28th, 29th, and 30th

Two concerts on school nights --  Thursday May 28th and Sunday June 21st

Later start dates – Some of the scheduled concerts start at 7:30 p.m.  One  (The Who and Joan Jett) involves two different acts.  It is unclear how such events will end by  10 p.m. and whether that limit is still being enforced.

Noise Code violations  -  As a result of our efforts,  the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) took noise readings last year.  Copies of those readings obtained by attorney Doug Gilbert under the Freedom of Information Law show what we believe to be violations of the city’s noise code every single concert last season. But the promoters and the tennis club were cited only once for excessive decibel levels.

The promoters and tennis club have said they will install acoustical barriers to get the noise levels down this season.  We support that effort, but it is not clear how much work is actually being done and whether it will be effective.

Advance Ticket Purchase  Problems --  As a result of our efforts last year, the promoters agreed to an advance ticket purchase option for neighborhood residents.  But we have heard that some residents who registered last year did not receive emails offering them tickets for The Who and other concerts announced so far this season. If you have had such a problem, please let us know.

A Small Effort On Your Part Can Make a Big Difference

We believe the concert promoters have the financial and professional ability to do right by the neighborhood and still make a healthy profit. But they will only do so if you make your voice heard now.

So please -- come to the meeting.  It’s now clear that these events are going to have a profound effect on our neighborhood for many years to come. It is important that we get this right now, before it is too late.

If you would like to get involved and help us advocate on behalf of the neighborhood, please email us at this address: concernedcitizensofforesthills@gmail.com.   And please encourage your friends and neighbors to sign up for our mailing list by emailing us at this address.

Andy Court
Doug Gilbert
Ann Whyte
on behalf of Concerned Citizens of Forest Hills

List of concert dates:  (based on the Forest Hills stadium web site:)

05/28 ED SHEERAN
05/29 ED SHEERAN
05/30 THE WHO HITS 50!
06/19 VAN MORRISON WITH SPECIAL GUEST TAJ MAHAL
06/21 D'ANGELO AND THE VANGUARD
08/04   JAMES TAYLOR AND HIS ALL-STAR BAND
08/14 SANTANA
09/19 ALABAMA SHAKES WITH SPECIAL GUESTS DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS

A web site called jambands.com listed one additional concert not found on the forest hills stadium site:

August 6—New York Pops with Sutton Foster

23 comments:

  1. I hadn't heard about this advance purchase option. Where can I find details on that?

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  2. Sunday June 21 should not be considered a school night considering school ends three days later..

    Also, note to this "Concerned Citizens of Forest Hills" group, get a grip. These concerts are great for the neighborhood and bring money and increased business to Austin Street. The bars, restaurants, etc are all packed on these concert nights.

    I really don't see the bad side of these concerts. It's a bit of noise, and better yet to you people: you get to hear the concerts that we Northern side of Queens Blvd-ers have to pay quite a bit of money to hear..

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    1. Yea, that's when they have exams- right at the end of the school year.
      -A parent, which obviously you aren't.

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    2. There is a Regents exam on Monday morning June 22, the day after a Sunday concert.
      So why would this not be considered a school night?????
      The noise usually goes all day on a concert day- starting with "sound checks" in the afternoon that go for several hours, on and off.
      Most people want to be able to choose for themselves when they want to listen to loud music and when they don't - WHEN THEYRE IN THEIR OWN HOME.

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  3. To the concerned Citizens: I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation...no...no...
    from Joan Jett.




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  4. 9 days out of 365. What's the problem? I wonder how "concerned" residents are about riding crime, illegal construction, over crowded schools, dangerous roads, closing hospitals, political corruption, etc. They should channel their efforts and angst toward these more important issues.

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  5. What entitles them to advance sale notifications? These people are too darn spoiled. It's all good for the economy and it's keeping the tennis stadium out of the hands of the evil developers. That alone should be enough for these elitists.

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  6. I'm a parent and even I think the school night bit is a bit of a stretch. What's the real concern; that my child may hear the music through the closed windows and be disrupted from sleeping. How loud is this music that I have that much of a concern, especially given that we're talking about 2...thats right, 2 school nights out of the year. If that's the case, lets ban holidays cause that "disrupts" school nights as well. So silly these "concerned citizens" which I take as retired individuals who think 10pm as burning the midnight oil.

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    1. There's a regents exam- required for high school graduation - at 9 a.m. the day after the June 21 concert. Why is this a stretch at all?

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    2. Commerce goes on. Even on school nights. Get earplugs.

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    3. Regents exams means the kids are in High School. Are we concerned about noise traveling through windows for High School kids who can sleep soundly through a tornado? Close the window, turn a fan or AC on for white noise and like magic, the outside noise is gone. I'm a parent, I know there are plenty of excuses for the stupid things they do, but I'm not going to join the "concerned citizens" to restrict the few concerts they hold a year as the reason my child isn't doing well on his regents exams. I'm more concerned about the horn honking which is a Forest Hills staple. Should I create a group for that as well?

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    4. The horn honking impacts a lot more people than the concerts do. That green taxi stand in front of the new 7-11 should be made into a No Honk Zone. I might actually join an anti-honking group if one was formed.

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  7. My apartment is right on Continental and I have to listen EVERY morning to idiots honking their horns all during the rush hour (I work from home). Its a lot more annoying then music playing. 8 times a year.

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  8. I live next door to the tennis stadium and I love the concerts. They are very well run, our neighbors all enjoy having the streets closed so the kids can play, the noise level is very reasonable (my infant daughter was able to sleep through the concerts even with the windows open), they are over early, and they bring money to the neighborhood. There are plenty of other issues to be concerned about in the neighborhood (ie overcrowding in schools forcing many kids to end up away from their zoned school, miles from home, at a much lower rated school). Unless and until it becomes a problem I'm happy to see these concerts as a regular part of the summer season!

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  9. Can anyone confirm the Sutton Foster concert? Because that's something I could really get excited about!

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  10. There's a reason why this facility did not hold events for decades. It is a residential area not meant for this type of use.

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    1. Get out -- move to 1) Long Island 2) New Jersey 3) Westchester.

      No room for residential losers in NYC. It's an international city where everyone in the world wants to live - and we want entertainment. I don't care how many decades you've lived here.

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  11. I'm a resident in Forest Hills and am excited to go see Ed Sheeran on the Thursday night "school" night show. I'm excited to be able to walk 5-10 minutes to the stadium to see a concert and to walk home and be home in a decent time. If the stadium didn't hold concerts, then what else would they use it for? It's an open air stadium. Any type of event would create noise. Should it just be left there to fall apart or knock it down to build another apartment tower? There's life being brought back to the stadium. A stadium with a lot of history, which includes some great concerts. Plus, it's great for the businesses in Forest Hills. 8 evenings of concerts out of an entire year doesn't seem to be a big deal.

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  12. I'm in favor of the concerts but for some people especially the buildings on Burns St I certainly see the issue. Burns St is the ingress and egress of approximately 14000 people. 14000 people are not clean. I've seen what the front of that building looks like after a show. I'm sure there are other buildings similarly affected. The notice reads that they aren't saying there shouldn't be concerts just that they want certain accommodations. If you feel similarly about issues that affect you (honking, crime, stray cats, whatever) absolutely do something about it. Form a group, write your politician... Or you know complain anonymously on a blog comment thread. There is zero benefit complaining about people coming together as a community to do what they believe is beneficial.

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  13. There are complainers everywhere. But it's interesting to see dozens of residents sitting outside on sidewalks or in their front and backyards listening to the music. What does this concerned citizens group do the other 357 days of the year?

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  14. I am in shock. You get free live music from your apartment....your apt value will go higher, you will rock your gypsy soul in to the mystic while being as sweet as Tupelo Honey. But you are complaining about 2 hrs that most people are paying top dollar for? What is the issue? Are you the same people that complained that the Beatles hair was too long?

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