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Billionaire Steve Cohen Stops Political Contributions; May Develop Willets Point Near Citi Field

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Although he is known for being a big time hedge fund manager who takes even bigger risks and sometimes pays the price for them, Steve Cohen, who is reportedly considering the purchase of an 80% stake in the NY Mets baseball team, has not been donating any money to political candidates in this tumultuous election cycle.

Edited by: TJVNews.com

According to a NY Post report, Cohen has in the past made significant political contributions to both Democrats and Republicans, however this year his purse strings seem to be closed. In recent years, records show that Cohen has given considerably more money to GOP candidates, as compared to Democratic candidates.

The billionaire businessman hasn’t given one thin dime to candidates on the federal level, officeholders or their various campaign committees in all of 2019, according to the Federal Election Commission.

The Post reported that Cohen gave Trump one million smackers towards his January 2017 inauguration and in 2016, he and his wife invested $4 million into the failed bid for the White House that was launched by former NJ Governor Chris Christie, who just happened to be a Republican. In 2017, the Post article indicated that he spent $2 million a super pac whose focus was retaining Republican control of the Senate and he also dropped yet another $1 million on the same kind of super pac that dedicated itself to the same thing for the House of Representatives.

After Cohen was caught in the middle of a pretty thorny 2013 trading scandal, speculation has been raised that he might be trying to keep a lower and quieter political profile. 

In 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an inquiry into SAC Capital, the hedge fund founded by Cohen. In November of 2013, SAC pled guilty to five insider-trading-related counts, pledging to pay $1.2 billion in fines—the largest number historically for any past insider trading cases, the Times reported.

In addition to the hefty sum associated with the agreement, SAC also discontinued its management of money from outside investors, and restricted its activities to those concerning Cohen’s wealth, which was valued at $9 billion at the time, according to the Times report.

At the hearing in which SAC pled guilty to the relevant counts, Peter Nussbaum, SAC’s general counsel, apologizee for SAC’s criminal activities.

“I want to express our deep remorse for the misconduct of each individual who broke the law while employed at SAC,” Nussbaum said, the Times further reported. “This happened on our watch, and we are responsible for that misconduct.”

Concerning the possibility of Cohen buying the Mets, an industry insider told the NY Post that,  “He (Cohen) probably doesn’t want to be seen as supporting Trump and they don’t want to be associated for their business. If you are running a regulated business, being at war with the president of the United States is not a good position.”

If Cohen should go ahead with his purchase of the Mets for a $2.6 billion valuation, the Post has reported that Cohen will be given the opportunity to develop the largest vacant lot of land in all of NYC’s five boroughs. The area is known as Willets Point and is located adjacent to Citi Field, the home of the Mets.

The Post has reported that the Wilpons,  (the current owners of the Mets) are working with the Stephen Ross companies to develop the 61-acre site in the Flushing, Queens neighborhood. If the name Stephen Ross rings a bell, he’s the guy who was the developer in chief of the property on Manhattan’s west side that is now known as Hudson Yards. Ross and Cohen are friends and Ross happens to be a contributor the Trump campaign.

In 2018, Mayor Bill deBlasio was in talks with and reached an agreement with the Wilpons to create 1,100 units of affordable housing at Willets Point by 2022 on a city-owned tract, as well as a new public-school building, according to the NY Post report.

Although 2019 is winding down to a close, the plans for the first phase of the Willets Point development project are still being discussed 

Citi Field itself is owned by New York City. The Mets and Cohen would own the operating company that manages the ballpark, according to the Post report.

The Willets Point area was the previous home to various auto-repair and manufacturing shops and various junkyards dotted the landscape. New York City spent more than $280 million to purchase and spruce up much of Willets Point, as was reported by the Post. The Post also reported that in 2016, the Islanders hockey team were in discussions with the Mets about the possibility of building a hockey arena in Willets Point, but the NHL team has now decided to make their new home at Belmont Park in Long Island.  

Moreover, the Post reported that when 2020 presidential contender Mike Bloomberg was the mayor of New York City, he had plans to build a 1 million square foot mall in Willets Point, which did not pan out either. 

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