The West Side Tennis Club is a well-known facility throughout the Forest Hills community. For over a hundred years now, the establishment has fostered athletes from all over the borough. The Club has been a neighborhood staple to fans of tennis and music alike. The stadium reopened it’s doors for concerts in 2013 featuring big names such as Mumford and Sons, Ed Sheeran, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

Unbeknownst to many in the community, the folks at the the West Side Tennis Club have gathered an incredible collection of tennis regalia. The WSTC Foundation plans to preserve and showcase their extensive archives within the coming years. Once established, the archive will include tennis reference books, photos, and equipment from years past. The foundation’s first step towards showcasing the impact tennis has had on the Forest Hills community, is to feature an exhibition of rackets through the ages as soon as Sunday, August 20th.

Shortly after, the West Side Tennis Club will be celebrating it’s 125th Anniversary on August 25th with the a Tennis Party fundraiser. The Club has made great strides to preserve the history of Forest Hills through hard work and dedication to local athletes. For more information, please contact The West Side Tennis Club at (718) 268-2300.

If you are looking for some entertainment, head over to the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema.

While the event isn’t happening in Forest Hills, check out the historic Kew Gardens Cinemas and a wide array of independent films. Forest Hills resident, Louie Cortes, even directed a movie that will be screened this Saturday. The flick centers around six people in their 20s on Halloween night.

The festival began this past weekend and will run until Sunday, August 13. There are a number of various thematic blocks.

Check out the full lineup and ticket information here. Learn more about the festival at Forest Hills Times including festival highlights.

Get to know your community and the officers from the 112th Precinct a tad better by stopping by the annual Night Out Against Crime.
Taking place TODAY from 6 pm, there are tons of activities for the whole family.

The 112th Precinct Community Council meeting stated that this year’s festivities include a DJ, free food and representatives from the DOT and the NYS comptroller’s office.

Night Out Against Crime happens all over the borough, city and country in an effort to bridge the gap between police and the community. This is also an opportunity to learn about neighborhood safety. This year’s event is happening at MacDonald Park.

The police are looking for a man who broke into a space early morning on Monday, July 24.
The man entered the space, located at 113-25 Queens Boulevard, through an unlocked window around 2:05 a.m. After searching the space, he left without taking any property, police said. The address suggests that it could be one of the second floor offices above the Sam Ash store.
Video surveillance, seen below, captured the man. He is described as Hispanic, 25-30 years of age, 5’8″ and 180 lbs. He was wearing a t-shirt, jeans and dark sneakers.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

Jazz Thursdays are back in Forest Hills!

The two-part series returns on August 10 with a tribute to Ray Charles by Wayne Homes. Spanglish Fly will return on August 17th. Both concerts being at 7 pm and run until 9:30 pm. The concerts take place on 70th Road between Austin Street & Queens Blvd. and will happen rain or shine!

While watching the show, the Forest Hills Chamber recommends having a meal or drink at one of the restaurants on “Restaurant Row” as most have outdoor café seating.

Will you be attending this year’s Jazz Thursdays?

Forest Hills Gardens, get ready for your close up!
The popular TV show, “Blue Bloods” will be filming on the streets of Forest Hills from July 21 to July 24.
The filming will impact parking in Forest Hills Gardens, so do pay attention to signs posted around the area…especially on Ascan Avenue between Winter Street and Ingram Street. There will be no parking on the east side of Ascan Avenue.
“Blue Bloods” is a drama following a family of law enforcement officials. The series stars Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan and Will Estes.

Kettle Corn NYC’s Mohammed Khamis, known by co-workers and customers by Mo, has passed away.

Khamis worked at the Kettle Corn NYC truck near Austin Street and 71st/Continental Ave, where he often passed out samples of popcorn. He was known for his vivacious personality and his interaction with passersby.

He died early Saturday morning after his car collided with a utility pole in New Jersey. A passenger, 20-year-old Ahmed Elnagger, also died.

In a Facebook post, the company’s owner, Ken Nercessian, wrote in a statement, “Mo, we love you very much and you will always be within our hearts.”

On the Facebook post, one woman wrote, “I remember when I was pregnant, he would always make it a point to give me samples. He always had a smile on his face.”

Another customer stated, “He was such a ray of sunshine and would always brighten up my day whenever I saw him at the truck.”