Steve A. Cohen
New York City’s Landmarks and Preservation Commission has given Steve Cohen the green light to create an enormous family compound in the heart of Greenwich Village at 145 Perry Street, and the neighbors are not pleased.
“I’m really shocked. Perhaps the commission was dazzled by this wealthy client. The plans are impressive and luxurious, but it looks like a Gucci store on Rodeo Drive or a private museum. It is completely inappropriate and out of character for Greenwich Village,” said Andrew Berman, head of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
Cohen won permission to build a single-family mansion plus a six story apartment building for his children right next door. But Berman says that the complex resembles a fortress or a “castle with a moat” and not a home in the neighborhood with a welcoming feel.
Spokesperson for Cohen, Jonathan Gasthalter, did not comment on the dissatisfaction with Cohen’s plans.
A few years ago Cohen closed down his hedge fund company SAC Capital Advisors in the wake of allegations concerning insider trading. He paid fines of $1.8 billion as a result. Subsequently he opened a family office called Point 72 Asset Management. He also owns a penthouse at One Beacon Court which is for sale. It was first listed for $115 million, but its last asking price was $67.5 million. Now it was pulled off the market because, according to a real estate source, “it can’t sell.”
Village Press 