Steven Cohen, the billionaire owner of the New York Mets, has launched a social media marketing blitz to gain local support in Queens for his proposal to transform 50 acres of parking lot space at the Mets’ Citi Field ballpark into Metropolitan Park, an attraction that would include a Hard Rock casino and 25 acres of green park space.
The campaign, which consists of online petitions, advertisements and emails targeted at key Queens stakeholders, aims to sidestep likely opposition to the project from state Senator Jessica Ramos, who represents Queens, and thus would be able to exert key influence on a Senate vote that is required to hand over city parkland to the project, for which the Citi Field parking lot qualifies.
Ramos has expressed distaste for Cohen’s vast fortune he amassed as a hedge fund manager, and has been at odds with several Queens-based advisers hired by Cohen over issues related to her constituents, with whom she has focused on labor and immigration issues.
Cohen is anticipating possible opposition from Ramos on the coming parkland handover bill by reaching out to other key lawmakers in an attempt to pass the bill without Ramos’ support.
According to a report on the Politico news site, they may include Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and possibly Bronx state Senator Nathalia Fernandez, who is being courted to give a similar approval to a Bally’s casino proposal in the Bronx.
Cohen spokesman Karl Ricket told Politico the marketing campaign is targeting the Queens neighborhood of Corona, East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, and will soon move to targeting the borough’s sports fans.
The effort plugs the benefits of the proposed Metropolitan Park, which would include athletic fields, bike paths and access to Flushing Bay with mailers and multilingual ads on Facebook and Instagram.
“We deserve better than 50 acres of asphalt!” reads an online petition, which describes the project as “a vision to transform the asphalt parking lots around Citi Field into a revolutionary sports and entertainment park.”
Another message shows acres of concrete with Citi Field in the distance, overlaid with the all-caps message: “LET’S TURN A PARKING LOT INTO A PARK.”
“For two years, we’ve worked closely with the community and our local elected officials, including Senator Ramos, as we’ve developed a vision for Metropolitan Park, and we will continue to do so,” Ricket said in a statement to Politico. “If she ultimately chooses not to introduce legislation in this session, we have both time and multiple pathways to get this done.
“The more people learn about Metropolitan Park, the more they support it, which is why we will continue to communicate our shared vision and the economic impact it will have on our neighbors.”
“I haven’t heard from Mr. Cohen’s team since I released the results of my own poll,” Ramos said in her own statement. “I’ll say that the space to focus on the budget was much appreciated. It is also worth reiterating that Mr. Cohen has now made his pitch and I’m much more interested in hearing the feedback from my neighbors.”
