 |
Charles S. Cohen | |
|---|---|
 Cohen at the 2013 Miami International Film Festival | |
| Born | Charles Steven Cohen February 8, 1952 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Tufts University (B.A.) Brooklyn Law School (J.D.) |
| Occupation(s) | real estate developer film distributor |
| Known for | President and CMO of Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation |
| Spouse | Clo Jacobs |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Gloria Cohen Sherman Cohen |
Charles Steven Cohen (born February 8, 1952) [1] [2] is an American real estate developer and film distributor.
Cohen was raised in a Jewish family [3] in Harrison, New York. [1] He is the son of Gloria and Sherman Cohen and nephew to Eddie and Mortimer Cohen. [4] In the 1950s, the Cohen brothers (Eddie, Mortimer, and Sherman Cohen) founded Cohen Brothers Realty & Construction Corporation [4] after successfully running various other businesses prior.
At the age of 16, Cohen made his first short film winning an honorable mention at the Kodak Teenage Movie Awards competition. [3] Cohen attended New York University for a year and a half before transferring to Tufts University where he majored in English. [3]
In 1974, Cohen graduated from Tufts. In 1997 he graduated from Brooklyn Law School. [5]
Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation is a private commercial real estate development and management firm with a portfolio of 12 million square feet of wholly owned and passively managed Class A office buildings and showrooms of over 300 companies across the United States. Signature projects include the revitalization of Manhattan's Decoration & Design (D&D) Building, the Southern California's Pacific Design Center and the Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA) in South Florida, the largest design center in the United States.
Cohen's New York City properties include 623 Fifth Avenue, 622 Third Avenue, 135 East 57th Street, 750 Lexington Avenue, 3 East 54th Street, 805 Third Avenue, 3 Park Avenue, 475 Park Avenue South and the D&D Building at 979 Third Avenue. [6]
Lawsuits
From 2010 to 2014 three lawsuits were filed against the company by former employees claiming that they were fired after taking medical leave. The cases were settled out of court.
In 2021 several lawsuits were filed against the business accusing Cohen of bullying and creating a hostile working environment for women. The company denied the allegations said it does not tolerate sexual harassment. [7]
In early 2024, Fortress Investment Group sued Cohen for a default on a $534mn loan made in 2019. [8] In August a New York Supreme Court judge approved proceeding with a foreclosure auction against properties owned by Cohen to recoup part of the value of the loans. [9] Cohen disputed the claim, alleging that a restructuring agreement had been reached with Fortress. However, the court rejected Cohen's motion to postpone the auction. [10] In November 2024, Fortress seized control of cinema chain Curzon for $5mn as part of the auction. [11] Fortress also acquired control of companies that control the Design Center of the Americas, and Le Méridien hotel in Dania Beach in Florida. [12]
Representing his first venture into the hospitality arena, Mr. Cohen has redeveloped and opened the Le Méridien Dania Beach at Fort Lauderdale Airport, a hotel located on the 40-acre DCOTA (Design Center of the Americas) campus.
Charles S. Cohen formed Cohen Media Group in 2008 to distribute independent and arthouse films throughout North America. Cohen Media Group is today the largest American distributor of French films in the United States, while its specialty home entertainment label, the Cohen Film Collection, releases restored and re-mastered editions of classic American and foreign films on Digital platforms, Blu-ray and DVD. Cohen Media Group has distributed over 120 feature films and shorts.
The company has also acquired the rights to over 800 films, including cinematic landmarks from Douglas Fairbanks, Buster Keaton and Merchant Ivory Productions, best known for Howards End and Maurice . Additionally, Cohen Media Group has several feature film and television productions in active development. Charles S. Cohen is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and is a member of the PGA (Producers Guild of America).
In 2017, Charles S. Cohen renovated and reopened one of New York City's movie houses, the historic Quad Cinema in Greenwich Village. [13] He is also in the process of redeveloping the historic Larchmont Playhouse in Westchester County into an arthouse/independent film multiplex and is in the planning stage of redeveloping an arthouse/independent film multiplex in West Palm Beach, Florida.
In 2017, Cohen acquired the Paris cinema La Pagode, which dates back to 1896. Cohen is working with the French government on the plans of the restoration of this Parisian landmark. [14] [15] In 2018, Cohen purchased Landmark Theatres, the nation's largest specialized theater chain dedicated to independent cinema with 252 screens in 27 markets. [16]
On 23 December 2019, he acquired British art-house cinema chain Curzon Cinemas, including the distribution arm Curzon Artificial Eye. [17]
From 1991 to 1993 Cohen was a chairman at the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation. Cohen has served on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, the Lighthouse International Theater, the Public Theater, Real Estate Board of New York, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the Film Society of Lincoln Center. [5]
Two UK fashion labels, Savile Row tailor Richard James and luxury shoe manufacturer and retailer Harrys of London, were acquired in 2016 and 2017. Cohen has a majority stake and serves as chairman at Richard James. Cohen, who serves as chairman, will facilitate the brands' international growth strategies, beginning with the recent Manhattan store openings on Park Avenue and East 57th Street.[ citation needed ]
In 2018, Cohen acquired T Anthony, a 73-year-old luxury leather goods & luggage company. [18]
Cohen has been married twice. He has four children from his two marriages. [1] He is divorced from his first wife; they have two children, a daughter and a son who works at Cohen Brothers Realty Corp. [3] In 2004, he married his second wife, Clodagh "Clo" Margaret Jacobs, [4] a former marketing and publicity executive for fashion designer Jimmy Choo, [3] in a Jewish ceremony at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan; [4] they also have two children. [3] The couple divides their time between homes in Manhattan and in suburban Connecticut. [1]
The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is a 22-story, 285-foot-tall (86.9 m) steel-framed triangular building at 175 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick P. Dinkelberg, and sometimes called, in its early days, "Burnham's Folly", it was opened in 1902. The building sits on a triangular block formed by Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and East 22nd Street—where the building's 87-foot (27 m) back end is located—with East 23rd Street grazing the triangle's northern (uptown) peak. The name "Flatiron" derives from its triangular shape, which recalls that of a cast-iron clothes iron.
Landmark Theatres is a movie theatre chain founded in 1974 in the United States. It was formerly dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent and foreign films. Landmark consists of 34 theatres with 176 screens in 24 markets. It is known for both its historic and newer, more modern theatres. Helmed by its President, Kevin Holloway, Landmark Theatres is part of Cohen Media Group.
Vornado Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust formed in Maryland in 1982, with its primary office in New York City. The company invests in office buildings and street retail in Manhattan.
Fortress Investment Group, LLC is an American investment management firm based in New York City. It was founded as a private equity firm in 1998 by Wes Edens, Rob Kauffman, and Randal Nardone.
The Film Center Building, also known as 630 Ninth Avenue, is a 13-story office building on the east side of Ninth Avenue between 44th and 45th Streets in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built in 1928–1929, the structure has historically catered to businesses involved in film, theater, television and music and audio production. The building was designed in the Art Deco style, with Ely Jacques Kahn as the architect of record. The lobby's interior is a New York City landmark, and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Curzon Film, formerly known as Artificial Eye or Curzon Artificial Eye, is a British film distributor, specialising in independent, foreign-language and art house films for cinema and home entertainment.
Douglas Elliman is an American real estate company.
The Charles Scribner's Sons Building, also known as 597 Fifth Avenue, is a commercial structure in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, on Fifth Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets. Designed by Ernest Flagg in a Beaux Arts style, it was built from 1912 to 1913 for the Scribner's Bookstore.
Arthur George Cohen was an American businessman and real estate developer in New York City.
Arlen Realty & Development Corporation, also known as Arlen, was a real estate investment trust founded in 1959 by Arthur G. Cohen and Arthur N. Levien. In the early 1970s, it was one of the largest publicly traded real estate investment trusts. Arlen began by developing suburban shopping centers throughout the United States, and in 1971, it acquired discount retail chain E.J. Korvette. By 1975, Arlen owned and managed over 42 million square feet of shopping centers, and controlled over $1.7 billion of US real estate assets.
Curzon Cinemas Limited is a chain of cinemas based in the United Kingdom, mostly in London, specialising in art house films. They also have a video on demand service, Curzon Home Cinema.
Steven Roth is an American real estate investor, the founder and chairman of Vornado Realty Trust, the largest commercial landlord in New York City. He is also co-founder and managing general partner of Interstate Properties, and chairman and chief executive officer of Alexander's.
RXR Realty is a vertically integrated real estate and infrastructure owner, investor, operator, and developer headquartered in New York City. The firm’s portfolio of commercial, residential, multifamily, infrastructure, and logistics projects includes 91 commercial real estate properties and investments held across the country as of 2023. RXR is a privately held company that employs around 450 professionals with experience in operations, real estate development, construction, investment, and asset management.
Curzon Home Cinema is a video-on-demand streaming service available in the UK and Ireland where movies are available to rent on a 'pay per watch' basis. It is part of the Curzon World group which has roots going back to 1934. Films on this service are managed by the Curzon Cinemas team, focusing on independent, art-house and foreign-language titles. Initially launched as Curzon on Demand in 2010, and rebranded in 2013, it was the first service in the UK to show selected new cinema releases at home, the same date they were available to watch in cinemas ("day-and-date"). UK film distributor Curzon Artificial Eye, founded in 1976, is also part of the same business, providing day-and-date releases to the platform, as well as a catalogue of classic titles, including a significant number of Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or winners. In 2015, more than 60 European films were given day-and-date releases, including Curzon's release of Andrew Haigh's 45 Years, the first such UK title to make over £1 million at the box office.
The Trinity Building, designed by Francis H. Kimball and built in 1905, with an addition of 1907, and Kimball's United States Realty Building of 1907, located respectively at 111 and 115 Broadway in Manhattan's Financial District, are among the first Gothic-inspired skyscrapers in New York, and both are New York City designated landmarks. The Trinity Building, adjacent to the churchyard of Richard Upjohn's neo-Gothic Trinity Church, replaced an 1853 Upjohn structure of the same name. Earlier, the Van Cortlandt sugar house stood on the west end of the plot – a notorious British prison where American soldiers were held during the Revolutionary War.
The Coty Building is a building at 714 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The six-story building contains a French-inspired facade and mansard roof, which are integrated into the base of the adjoining skyscraper at 712 Fifth Avenue. The third through fifth floors contain 276 decorative glass panes, the only documented architectural work by René Lalique in the United States.
The Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store is a department store on Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The original 10-story structure at 611 Fifth Avenue has served as the flagship store of Saks Fifth Avenue since its completion in 1924. The store also occupies part of 623 Fifth Avenue, a 36-story tower completed in 1990.
689 Fifth Avenue is a commercial building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 54th Street. The building was designed by Warren and Wetmore and constructed from 1925 to 1927.
The Metro Theater is a defunct movie theater at 2626 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by architecture firm Boak and Paris and built between 1932 and 1933. The theater is designed in the Art Deco style and originally contained 550 seats. Although the theater's interior was demolished after it was closed in 2005, the original facade remains intact and is a New York City designated landmark.
Sutton 58 is a residential skyscraper in the Sutton Place neighborhood of Midtown East, Manhattan in New York City.
after a few years, Cohen decided there was not much future for an ambitious young Jew at a bank — "a Jew wouldn't rise to the highest levels [of a bank] in those days," he said.