Important Message to the Community:

Legal Update

Dear Neighbors,

To protect our community and our property rights, the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation filed a federal lawsuit against the City of New York arguing that the City is unconstitutionally seizing our streets without permission or compensation.

For the past three years, concerts at the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium have continued without a license from FHGC. Despite our objections, the City has repeatedly closed our private streets, directed over one million concertgoers through our neighborhood, authorized private security to control access to our property, and even towed our residents’ cars from in front of their homes, all without our consent.

The City’s actions have caused:

• Blocked access to homes, parking, and the FHGC maintenance facilities.
• Noise violations at levels far above legal limits, disrupting daily life.
• Public nuisances on our property, including intoxication, drug use, public urination, littering, and more.
• Loss of control over our property.

Our lawsuit is designed to ensure that our rights are not sacrificed for the profit of a private club and its concert-promoter tenant.

What this lawsuit means for you:

Protecting our private streets: The complaint asks the court to declare that the City is taking our property in violation of the Takings Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Defending our rights: The lawsuit affirms FHGC’s ability to control our property.

Seeking fair compensation: FHGC is seeking just compensation for the City’s unlawful use of our private property for the last three seasons.

For years, we have acted in good faith, engaging in settlement discussions, proposing agreements that would balance the Stadium’s use with the Gardens’ well-being, and even initiating formal mediation. We have attempted for years to settle directly with the West Side Tennis Club and its tenant, Tiebreaker, but they have consistently refused to recognize our rights, and they reject all durable and enforceable protections for our community. Their unwillingness to resolve these issues has left us with no choice but to turn to the courts, and now the City must be part of the solution. By filing now, we ensure that our claims are within the applicable statute of limitations.  

This federal case is separate from our state court case, which will continue to move ahead.

We remain committed to transparency and will continue to update you as both cases move forward. We take a long-term perspective in protecting the Gardens, the quality of life that drew us here, and the valuable rights we hold as property owners.

Here is a link to the complaint.

We will host a Zoom town hall with our attorney to answer questions on Tuesday, October 21st from 7PM to 8PM. Please RSVP for the link and submit questions in advance to info@fhgc.org.

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors

October 14, 2025