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QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11)– The Forest Hills Garden Corporation, an organization representing homeowners in the Queens neighborhood, is suing the city of New York and the NYPD, according to court documents.
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Monday.
The lawsuit seeks compensation from the City of New York for the unconstitutional taking of private property related to concerts at Forest Hills Stadium.
The lawsuit alleges the city, through the NYPD, closes private streets, erects barricades on the plaintiff’s property, and directs 13,000 concertgoers to walk on the plaintiff’s private streets and property for the concerts.
This is despite the absence of permission or license from the organization, according to court documents.
“For several years, the City has illegally seized FHGC’s private streets, even after acknowledging that they are privately owned and off-limits,” said Katherine Rosenfeld, Partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, the firm representing FHGC. “The Constitution guarantees every property owner the right to decide who enters their property and to access their own property. By shutting down FHGC’s streets and funneling thousands of concertgoers through the community without its consent, the City has carried out a long-running unlawful taking — siding with a billion-dollar concert enterprise over the rights of residents. This lawsuit is about finally holding the City to account.”
The suit argues the court is subject to this case because it violates the Fifth Amendment and the 14th Amendment under the US Constitution.
This is just the latest in the ongoing drama surrounding Forest Hills Stadium and the residents of the Queens neighborhood. In the past, PIX11 News has reported on noise complaints and other lawsuits.
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Forest Hills Stadium is popular among concertgoers for its numerous concerts and events throughout the year. The stadium is less popular amongst the community that lives near the event space and has to deal with an influx of people when events occur.
The suit also alleges that when an event takes place, their streets are invaded with unwanted people not part of the community, year after year.
This latest suit aims to address the influx of people that makes it difficult for residents to access their homes due to crowded streets and gridlock. The suit alleges this is caused and directed by the City and the NYPD.
PIX11 News contacted the City regarding the lawsuit.
The lawyers for the city of New York were not immediately available to comment.
An NYPD Spokesperson issued the following statement:
The NYPD patrols the public streets around Forest Hills Stadium and does critical crowd control before, during, and after events. Barring any emergency, the NYPD is not present on private streets controlled by the Forest Hills Garden Corporation.
Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here.