Mets: Three community outreach initiatives Steve Cohen should implement

Recognizing and helping New York’s artistic community

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the areas of life most drastically affected has been the performing arts industry. Virtually all live performances in the New York theater and music circles have been shut down since March 2020. Sports are lucky that TV revenue somewhat makes up for the lost sales due to no fans in the stands, but live theater and performing groups are not so lucky.

The Cohen Foundation has funded many arts education programs, exhibitions, and arts enrichment opportunities through museum visits. In total, the Cohen Foundation has donated over $63 million to arts-related initiatives since its inception in 2001.

With the Cohens at the helm, the Mets Foundation should take advantage of their owner’s interest in the arts and support charities who contribute to the artistic community that makes New York such a vibrant place to live. Nonprofit organizations like the Queens Council for the Arts and Arts for All help bring the arts to as many people in New York City as possible, many of whom might not have access to museums and performances otherwise.

Other arts nonprofit organizations are not specifically focused on New York but provide significant relief to its many entertainers, such as The Actor’s Fund.

It may seem like performing arts and baseball are two worlds apart. However, both industries are in the business of entertaining and uplifting the general public. The Mets, under Steve Cohen’s ownership, have a unique opportunity to make their support of live entertainment in New York even stronger. By aiding nonprofits in a non-baseball sector of the entertainment business, Cohen can demonstrate that the Mets are enthusiastic about supporting other forms of entertainment in the New York area and preserving the culture of New York as a whole.

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All of these charitable initiatives align with what the Mets are already doing or with causes that the Cohens strongly support. Mets fans care most about the on-field product that Cohen will help put together, but they also want to feel proud of the team’s morals. With a bevy of worthy causes all around them, the Mets have no excuse not to further cement themselves as generous and thoughtful residents of Flushing, Queens.