The war is over.
Forest Hills Stadium agreed to host fewer concerts next year and pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars to end a legal feud with neighbors fed up with ear-splitting noise and rowdy crowds.
The iconic venue will host 28 shows in 2027, down from 36 in previous years as part of a new contract with the local homeowners association the Forest Hills Garden Corporation, the stadium and neighbors announced on Wednesday.
As part of the contract — the first with the neighbors group in years — the stadium will make a one-time $275,000 payment that will help beautify the neighborhood, then pay the corporation $15,500 per concert, or $434,000 for next year.
Forest Hills Stadium is limited to just 28 concerts next summer, as part of the settlement. Getty Images
“For the first time in years, the Forest Hills Gardens community has clear, enforceable protections for how the Stadium operates — a firm limit on the number of shows, a strict curfew, fireworks only with neighborhood approval, and meaningful financial payments,” the corporation’s board of directors said in a statement.
“With the divisiveness of the lawsuits now behind us, we look forward to building a constructive working relationship with the Stadium and are proud to usher in this new chapter for our community.”
In a letter to the community, the board — which was overhauled last year by an insurgent panel who were dissatisfied with their predecessors’ handling of the stadium war — revealed new limits on summer concerts.
The venue operators will pay the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation $15,500 for every show next summer. LP Media
All shows moving forward are under a strict 10 p.m. curfew, a time constraint that had previously been set by NYPD permits, but not contractually.
The only exceptions are Friday and Saturday evenings in July when the shows can go on until 10:30 p.m. with the city’s approval.
The new $15,500-per-concert deal is up from the measly $178,989 the 27 shows racked in for the homeowner’s group in 2026.
Tiebreaker, the company that runs the stadium, has also promised to outlaw fireworks without prior permission, to use real-time noise monitoring during events, to steer foot traffic away from residential blocks, and to provide street clean-up services after shows.
The settlement marks the end of a lengthy and bitter back and forth between the stadium and its neighbors, who claimed the concert was wreaking havoc on life in the otherwise quiet Queens nabe.
The corporation board filed numerous lawsuits, including one against the city, over the headaches over the past three years, later creating unrest within its own ranks.
Brittany Russell and Jeff Mitchell were elected to the FHGC board after campaigning on ending the bitter feud. Matthew McDermott
A new slate of residents took over the board in December after campaigning on ending the bitter battle with Tiebreaker, which they said was draining community money on unnecessary litigation.
The homeowner’s group quietly reached the six-figure settlement with the city in March, closing a lawsuit that alleged the NYPD “unconstitutionally” took control of the group’s property on more than 30 concert days last summer to help the Forest Hills Stadium rake in millions of dollars.