Steve Cohen wants a casino.

Like a good neighbor, Steve Cohen is there or maybe not. Major League Baseball New York Mets owner Cohen does not appear too thrilled with Major League Soccer NYCFC franchise owners planning to put a stadium in the neighborhood and using the parking lot that surrounds Cohen’s Mets stadium. Cohen, apparently, doesn’t see the value of having NYCFC customers using his parking lot although it is located on New York City parkland for the 20 or 25 times that the stadium will be used over a seven- or eight-month period. Cohen has the parking rights and keeps all of the parking revenue. But there is far more to this story. Cohen is a very rich hedge fund operator and businessman and given his prowess he thinks he can hold sway over New York City politicians and get their help in landing a casino somewhere near the Mets stadium which sits on New York City parkland.

Cohen can delay the building of the NYCFC stadium by saying no to allowing the soccer team’s fans to use his parking lots. The NYCFC stadium is part of a stadium-village plan on land that has been used for decades by junkyard operators. There will be 2,500 units of affordable housing along with retail space. There is a scheduled groundbreaking ceremony on the first phase, which includes 1,100 income-restricted apartments and a 650-seat school in the fall. The second phase of the project which would include the 25,000-seat soccer stadium, along with a 350-room hotel and the additional 1,400 affordable apartments would start in 2024. But the stadium construction cannot start until a deal between Cohen and NYCFC is reached. Cohen has been opposed to the soccer stadium plan. He wants a casino instead and is making that clear to politicians and he wants their support for his casino or else.

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