M. Donald Scott Havens is leaving the Mets.  Is it me or do Steve and Alex go through a lot of execs?  Isn’t everything groovy in Queens?  Why wouldn’t someone want to be the President of Business Operations?

Here’s the line the mainstream media is glossing over.

we ultimately had differing perspectives on long-term strategy

Who knows, maybe M. Donald Scott was the one thinking about all the nonsense and Steve is like “what if we just played organ music and Saturday day games?”  I believe in Steve, I bet Steve is like “what if Mr. Met didn’t do pushups with a dance team.”  Maybe Steve is the one asking “why did we open a store in Union Square?”

By the way Steve, this is Year 5 of your Year 5 plan and your team is in second place.  There are no more excuses.  Your timetable.  Your plan.  Your hires.  This is not on the Wilpons.  No excuses.  A tickertape parade or failure.  No excuses.  No “anything can happen in the playoffs.”  No excuses.  World Series Champions is the only option.

“If I don’t win a World Series in the next 3-5 years… I would consider that slightly disappointing,”  – Steve Cohen November 2020.

I’m not devastated, I’m disappointed,” – Tom Glavine, 2007

Anyway I am confident Steve’s next hire will work out.

Year 5 Steve.

I don’t know what to say about this  I am disgusted by it.

My take: If the billionaire wants to build a casino, then he should acquire some for-sale land and go ahead and build five casinos on the for-sale land….but not on our parkland.

Mr. Cohen has the means to make his existing parking lot more like what some think a park shoud look like.  Build that tiered lot you want, and plant some grass., some trees, and treat the people of New York to a few benches.  Maybe even a see-saw.  Why does there have to be a casino?

 

Gothamist reports…

The Democratic-led state Senate voted 54-5 on Tuesday to allow New York City to reclassify 50 acres of parking lots surrounding the Mets’ stadium, a key approval for the Cohen-backed project that is seeking one of the state’s three remaining licenses to operate a private casino.

The bill, which the state Assembly approved earlier this month, now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul for her signature or veto.

…The land, which is currently occupied by Citi Field parking lots, is currently public parkland. For the private project to move forward, lawmakers had to vote to allow New York City to “alienate” the parkland.

In October, the New York Post shared:

The hedge fund king has been a major benefactor to Hochul and the Democratic Party over the years.

He and his wife, Alexandra, donated a combined $136,700 to the Hochul campaign in 2021, according to state records.

Cohen, the founder of Point72 asset management, also was the biggest donor to the New York State Democratic Committee in its effort to gain control of the House of Representatives in the upcoming election, donating $235,000 from Jan. 1, 2023 to July 11, 2024, according to  Gothamist.

I’m no expert but I have a guess on which way the governor is going to vote.

Man, even Steve Cohen would rather watch the Knicks than a Mets game.

I’m not sure why Steve even went.  He seemed to sit there emotionless, like he was Data.  I didn’t notice him interacting with the other cool celebrities.  Just quietly sitting there in a Mets cap.  Maybe it was an expensive ad for baseball.

Some are saying Steve jinxed the Knicks, which is totally unfair.  Obviously Alex jinxed the Knicks.

Anyway this weekend MLB flips over one of its best cards when Ohtani and the Dodgers take on Soto (who I see people have decided is a bust…well THAT’S gonna be a long 15 years.  Calm down.  You guys turned Lindor into the Joker and now you wanna make him Captain.) ….anyay a good matchup in LAD-NYM and everyone will be focused on the Knicks Friday night and again Sunday Night up against Sunday Night Baseball.  Sorry baseball.

This is a good job by Steve.  This is how you do it.  You can’t just show up during the good times.   Nice job Steve.  More of this.

While I have your attention, ask the GM how he thinks Senga and Holmes are gonna make 38 starts after not pitching many innings last year.   That’s gonna be a major problem and I am gonna TOLD YA SO when it happens.

Whether you like it or not, the area around Citi Field is parkland, so I don’t understand why we are giving it to one of the richest people on the planet to build a casino.  He has the means to add some greenery if he wants to.

Let’s take a close look at this map, which seemingly nobody does.

Let’s start with (A) – 20 Acres of Public Park Space!   Wow that sounds like a lot!  We’re all City Folk, we have no idea what an acre is.  Sure sounds like a hell of a lot of park.  Well, why don’t you look at A on this map…

….did you find the A?  Looks like we’re getting something the size of the infield.   Now the internet tells me that an acre is about 75% the size of a football field, and to me (A) doesn’t look like its many football fields big.  So are we including everything here?  Pay attention folks.

OK let’s look at (L) the Community Athletic Fields.  Let me know when you find them.  Did you find them yet?  There they are on the southside of Roosevelt Avenue.

How about (J) the Public Plaza.  Yep, there it is – tucked over in the corner by the soccer stadium and the new apartment buildings.  That’s gonna get tons of use.

What about the Playground (M) – let me know when you find it.  Yep, there is is, as far away as possible from the new buildings on the right (not part of this project) and across the highway from the Corona neighborhood west of 114th.  I am sure a lot of families will be walking over to use this playground.

Well, at least Mets fans will have somewhere to tailgate (H).  It took me three tries to even find that on the map.

Now, can you find “Gaming Facility” (G) –  why are we avoiding the word casino? – yeah I bet you did!

Don’t be a fool guys.  Pay attention to what’s going on here.

Look, if a park is a good idea, then build a park.

If a casino is a good idea, then BUY SOME LAND and build a casino on it.

Don’t hand parkspace over to rich people who can afford to buy land and as my uncle used to say “Don’t kid a kidder.”