May 3, 1994 Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Myriam J. Altman, J.). Generally, "'unless the balance is strongly in favor of the defendant, the plaintiff's choice of forum should rarely be disturbed'" (Waterways Ltd. v. Barclays Bank, 174 A.D.2d 324, 327, quoting Gulf Oil Corp. v. Gilbert, 330 U.S. 501, 508). In this case, contrary to the IAS Court, we find that defendants did not meet their heavy burden of demonstrating that plaintiffs' selection of New York as the forum for the within