The Daily Dirt: Steve Cohen refuses to fold on casino bid

What can happen in a year?

The state Gaming Commission won’t start accepting applications for a casino downstate until 2025. Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management hopes it can convince state lawmakers to go around Queens Sen. Jessica Ramos to allow a casino near Citi Field before then. 

On Tuesday, Ramos introduced parkland alienation legislation that allows a convention center, hotel, an actual park and other upgrades at the site, which is currently a parking lot, but does not permit a casino. 

Cohen’s team maintains that they still see a path forward for their project, though that path is not yet clear and likely won’t take shape anytime soon: The legislative session ends June 6.   

Lawmakers could try to lump approving the casino use with state approvals needed by other casino applicants (Bally’s also needs park alienation legislation for its proposal in the Bronx) as a way of “leveling the playing field” for proposals ahead of the review process.  

The city adopted a similar view of the issue this year when it approved a zoning text amendment to allow casinos in manufacturing and commercial districts. That change ensured that the City Council could not, on its own, kill a casino proposal.  

This news broke early Tuesday, as I’m sure many of you were trying to catch up from the holiday weekend. Here are some other things you may have missed:

— Adam Neumann has officially dropped his quest to take back WeWork.  

— RFR Holding is trying to sell 281 Park South again. 

—At some point next year, developers seeking to build a last-mile delivery warehouse will first need to secure a special permit.  

—Freddie Mac is temporarily not accepting new loans with appraisals or valuations from Dallas-based BBG. It is also not accepting appraisals or valuations tied to  Jon DiPietra, a managing director of BBG’s New York office.

— Sage Realty is trying to sell 767 Third Avenue.

What we’re thinking about: After saying he would not support Donald Trump again, Blackstone chair Stephen Schwarzman changed his mind. Will this reversal push other real estate executives to publicly back Trump? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com. 

A thing we’ve learned: Former NFL player Greg Senat is now a real estate agent for Corcoran Infinity Properties in Bergen County,  Bergen Record reports. Senat was an offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, the Kansas City Chiefs and, at the end of his career, the New York Jets. Thank you to Holden Walter-Warner for passing this along!

Elsewhere in New York…

— Assembly member Danny O’Donnell has endorsed Eli Northrup to take his seat representing District 69 on the Upper West Side, City & State reports. Micah Lasher, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s former policy director, is widely considered to be the frontrunner in the crowded Democratic primary.  

— Twenty-nine sailboats will take off from NYC Wednesday and travel to France, Gothamist reports. The sailors are competing to qualify for the Vendée Globe, a race that circumnavigates the globe. 

— Tissue samples and wings from Flaco, the owl that escaped from the Central Park Zoo and died in February, are headed to the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Times reports. The remains will not be publicly on view but will be part of the museum’s scientific collections. 

Closing Time 

Residential: The priciest residential sale Tuesday was $9.5 million for a 4,800-square-foot condominium at 50 Wooster Street in Soho. 

Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $21 million for a mixed-use property at 240 West 54th Street in Midtown. 

New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $17 million for a 4,500-square-foot condominium at 151 East 58th Street in Sutton Place. Alen Moshkovich of Serhant has the listing. 

Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a 35,000-square-foot, seven-story mixed-use project at 632 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights. Amr Ouda of Jay Architect & Engineering filed the permit. — Matthew Elo