By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2025-04-01 22:18:48 | Updated at 2025-04-03 01:17:03
1 day ago
A top Queens official took up arms in the battle to save Forest Hills Stadium as its concert series hangs in the balance — accusing neighbors of looking for an excuse to keep black concert-goers out of the wealthy nabe.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards claimed residents of the Forest Hills Garden Corp (FHGC) had ulterior motives for raising a stink over the iconic stadium that had nothing to do with the ear-splitting noise the open-air stadium emits.
“Just mad black people are in your community for concerts. After Rock The Bells is when you got hyper!!! We are here to stay,” Richards seethed on X Monday, referencing the annual hip-hop festival played by LL Cool J and Wu-Tang Clan.
“We don’t respond to racism!!!” he added in a second post.
Richards, who is black, doubled down on the accusations Tuesday — despite Forest Hills Stadium being better known for hosting bands like Phish and the Black Keys.
Rock the Bells is not on the schedule for the 2024 concert series line-up and hasn’t played at the stadium since 2023.
“There are racial overtones when it comes to some of the music. It is what it is,” he told The Post.
“There’s no way around it. I’m not broad-brushing the whole neighborhood. But you have to call it out.”
The borough president’s accusations mark the latest development in the ongoing saga around the 13,000-seat venue, which announced last week that it would forge ahead with its summer concert series despite the NYPD withholding vital sound amplification permits.
Various local leaders claimed the move would rip away business from Forest Hill’s mom-and-pop businesses, a sentiment Richards reiterated in a Friday letter to the Adams administration pleading “to do all it can” to resolve the standoff before the first planned concert of the season on May 31.
Shutting the stadium down even temporarily would be “financially devastating” for its hundreds of staff members, the concert promotion team, countless concert-goers, and the “nearby restaurants, bars, shops and other establishments who see a surge in patronage” on concert days, Richards wrote.
“To allow a minute number of frustrated individuals — representing a small fraction of the local community’s population — to shutter one of New York City’s most iconic and economically vital concert venues, simply by threatening legal action against the City, would be shortsighted and destructive,” Richards wrote in the letter.
The borough president, who previously represented Far Rockaway in the City Council, made no mention of race — until schoolteacher Jenna Cavuto accused Richards of having previously refused to hear neighbors’ concerns about the venue.
Cavuto was floored by the accusations, telling The Post the fight was purely about the ear-splitting noise.
“I thought his response was highly inappropriate and dismissive of the community’s concerns. It’s highly unprofessional,” said Cavuto, who lives near the stadium.
Cavuto claimed Richard’s decision to inject race into the discussions about the concerts is a “bully tactic” to avoid addressing the grievances of residents.
“It’s quite frightening. It seems to be part of his act. Finding ways to bring race into the conversation. He refuses to have a dialogue with the community,” Cavuto said.
“There was absolutely no need to respond in that way to a constituent.”
City Councilmember Bob Holden, whose district covers the stadium, also piled on, saying Richards was trying to “silence constituents with false, race-based attacks.”
“Donovan Richards has become known for using race to deflect from his poor record of listening to Queens residents, cozying up to special interests instead and pushing deeply unpopular policies like congestion pricing and the City of Yes,” Holden said.
“He owes that teacher and the residents raising legitimate issues an apology—and his constituents the respect of actually doing his job and listening to them for once.”
Whether Richards’ letter to Adams will have any effect on the coming 14 concert summer series is yet to be seen.
The Department of Environmental Protection ruled that the venue had exceeded a 68-decibel noise limit during 11 of the venue’s 36 concerts last year — with June 15’s Pixies and Modest Mouse registering the loudest volumes at 73 decibels.
A spokesperson for City Hall said in a statement that the administration has been in contact with both the stadium and the homeowners and is hopeful that a “mutual agreement” can be reached soon.
Nothing has changed regarding the permit amplification approvals, however.
Police reiterated Tuesday that it would continue to withhold them until the Forest Hills Garden Corp. grants permission for cops to close their private streets around the stadium during concerts — a right they were holding hostage until the venue made concessions to be a better neighbor.
“This is a disagreement between the and the West Side Tennis Club. We understand that many people enjoy these concerts every summer, but we must be able to take appropriate action to keep people safe. We trust that the FHGC and the West Side Tennis Club will be able to reach an appropriate compromise,” an NYPD spokesperson said in a statement.
