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#Steve Cohen consults Queens community on Willets Point development

“Steve Cohen consults Queens community on Willets Point development”

Mets owner Steve Cohen solicited input from Queens residents Saturday on how best to develop the area around Citi Field – all while preparing to potentially roll the dice on bringing a casino to the property.

The billionaire hedge funder met and his team with more than 500 neighborhood residents at the ballpark and talked about how to turn the adjacent, long dormant Willets Point area into a year-round, all-weather entertainment destination.

Cohen said he’s “looking for great ideas” but openly added “a casino is definitely an option” — despite some in attendance expressing staunch opposition to gambling on the site.

“We don’t expect everyone to support all our ideas, but that’s what this discussion is about,” added Cohen, who’s seriously considering bidding for one of three downstate casino licenses up for grabs.

Cohen is considering bidding for an NYC casino.
Mets owner Steve Cohen solicited input from Queens residents Saturday on how best to develop the area around Citi Field.

The price tag for the licenses is over $500 million.
Cohen is potentially vying for one of the three downstate casino licenses up for grabs.


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Cohen hopes the plan would make his bid sweeter.
The Citi Field plan includes building a 25,000-seat stadium for the New York City Football Club, a hotel, and 2,500 units of affordable housing.


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He also discussed potentially building a park and providing better access directly from the targeted site to the nearby World’s Fair Marina and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Some in attendance protested a casino project, pushing Cohen to back other projects like an amphitheater and building more community recreational space.

“I’d rather not have a casino,” said Jeannine Williams of Flushing. “I’d like to see more greenspace, a link to the marina. I’m a biker. I want to see something pretty.”

Insiders told The Post in November that Cohen and his team believe a $780 million mixed-used development project by city officials — which includes building a 25,000-seat stadium for the New York City Football Club, a hotel, and 2,500 units of affordable housing on other land next to Citi Field — is a big win for Cohen’s expected bid.

Through a new entity created in April called “New Green Willets,” Cohen has shelled out at least $334,854 on outside lobbyists trying to secure support for a casino and other business from many state and city officials, records show.

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