Former Islanders owner, Charles Wang passes away

[LeHab]

Charles Wang, minority owner of the New York Islanders and founder of Computer Associates died Sunday.
The cause of death of the 74-year-old was not disclosed in the statement from his attorney John McEntee of Farrell Fritz, which said he was surrounded by his family in Oyster Bay.

Born in Shanghai, Wang’s family moved to Queens when he was 8 years old. A graduate of Queens College, Wang and Russell Artz founded Computer Associates in 1976 and the company reached $1 billion in revenue 13 years later.

Wang bought a stake in the Islanders in 2000, becoming a majority owner the following year. He later owned the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League. Wang sold a majority stake in the Islanders in 2016 after moving the team to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center the year before.
A real estate owner and developer, Wang bought up dozens of properties in and around Oyster Bay and built the Mariners Walk condo community there. He pitched several major real estate developments that never materialized, including the $2.4 billion Lighthouse project for the Nassau Coliseum site and a 660-unit housing project in Plainview. He was a partner in the new development on the site, Country Pointe Plainview, now being built by Beechwood Organization.

Philanthropy played a central role in Wang’s life. In 1998, he endowed the Charles B. Wang International Foundation. In 1999, he founded Smile Train, a public charity that has provided more than one million free cleft surgeries to children in more than 85 developing countries. In 2001, he established the New York Islanders Children’s Foundation, dedicated to supporting children and youth organizations. Wang also supported the growth of the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center to allow it to expand the delivery of affordable healthcare to the underserved in New York City. He built and donated the Charles B. Wang Center at Stony Brook University to celebrate Asian and American cultures.

https://libn.com/2018/10/21/long-island-icon-charles-wang-dies/

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[tarheelhockey]

Wow, had no idea he was in his final days. He certainly was a pivotal figure in the league for a while.

 

[hi]

Wow this is kind of shocking. Didn't realize he was in his 70s either. RIP

 

[OpAck]

He was certainly an unconventional owner. He made some pretty bold decisions that either worked or failed spectacularly. But bottom line...he was a devoted owner and the New York Islanders would've left Long Island long ago, without him taking a risk and using his deep pockets to keep the franchise afloat for years. He also has helped this sport grow in China.

RIP Charles. Thank you for devotion to the sport and to Long Island.

 

[BruinsBtn]

74 years old. Pretty young. Sad to see.

 

[ForsbergForever]

Sad that he died but should we expect any Bill Wirtz style shadenfreude here on behalf of Isles fans? Wasn't he responsible for setting the team back years in poor management decisions?

 

[SI90]

Sad that he died but should we expect any Bill Wirtz style shadenfreude here on behalf of Isles fans? Wasn't he responsible for setting the team back years in poor management decisions?

He made poor management decisions because of his loyalty to his relationships with guys like Snow. His heart was always in the right place and all he wanted was for the isles to stay in New York and on Long Island and he’s a big reason why they did.

 

[Sorge Georos]

Sad that he died but should we expect any Bill Wirtz style shadenfreude here on behalf of Isles fans? Wasn't he responsible for setting the team back years in poor management decisions?

He was a horrendous owner, but it’s still sad.

 

[Lights911]

He made a lot of bad decisions but he kept the team in NY and I’ll be forever thankful for that. RIP

 

[Howe Elbows 9]

Sad that he died but should we expect any Bill Wirtz style shadenfreude here on behalf of Isles fans? Wasn't he responsible for setting the team back years in poor management decisions?

Did he intentionally made decisions that set the team back?

To me, admittedly not an Isles fan, Wang could best be described as unconventional (as OpAck wrote above) or eccentric.

RIP Charles.

 

[SI90]

From Matt Martins fiancé Sydney

 

[robertmac43]

Sad news condolences to the family.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

He was a horrendous owner, but it’s still sad.

But he was not even the worst Islanders owner ever.

He did help them stay local, so there is that. RIP.

 

[Kale Hulls]

What happens to his share of the team now?

 

[SI90]

Kyle Okposo

 

[StreetHawk]

He made a lot of bad decisions but he kept the team in NY and I’ll be forever thankful for that. RIP

He tried for years upon years to get the Lighthouse project built in Nassau to completely redo the colesium and its surrounding area, but couldn’t get approval from the county.

That’s probably the main thing I remember about him.

 

[Kane One]

RIP.

 

[SI90]

Bettman statement.

 

[Avsboy]

Seemed like a good guy. RIP.

 

[SI90]

 

[DrewGl]

74 years old. Pretty young. Sad to see.

74 years old is young these days. Do we know what he died from?

 

[jvcjdudu jcycyxjene]

74 years old. Pretty young. Sad to see.

Young?

 

[GrandmaSlices51631]

What happens to his share of the team now?

None of us have seen his will, so your asking the wrong people.

 

[Bood12]

Sad that he died but should we expect any Bill Wirtz style shadenfreude here on behalf of Isles fans? Wasn't he responsible for setting the team back years in poor management decisions?

Wang was a good guy, any Islander fan who is saying anything bad about him is a fool, very likely he took over the team and kept them in NY when at the time he took over the team was in disarray and it was looking like there was a real chance they could leave, as far as management and other decisions he can be forgiven as there was more than just on the surface

 

[OpAck]

Wang was a good guy, any Islander fan who is saying anything bad about him is a fool, very likely he took over the team and kept them in NY when at the time he took over the team was in disarray and it was looking like there was a real chance they could leave, as far as management and other decisions he can be forgiven as there was more than just on the surface

The 90s really were the dark ages for the Isles org and fans. Torrey leaves, GM Maloney swiftly dismantles the team that had just reached the Eastern finals, the Gang of 4 minority owners bring in Milbury and the fisherman jersey, then comes Spano, then come Milstein/Gluckstern who wanted to sell Palffy to the Rangers for cash and cut team payroll to $14M. I remember truly believing the Isles were going to Kansas City or Seattle (Paul Allen's name came up frequently) since there really was no one that would keep them on the Island.

I don't think there's another person at that time that would've kept that team going for so many years, without an arena deal and losing so much cash. I may be wrong, but I don't think Wang ever considered selling during those really dark times. The guy was stubborn, but devoted to seeing to it that the Isles stay in NY, and more importantly, on Long Island.

And like I said earlier, some of his ideas worked (extensive charity work, hockey in China, Ice Girls ), while others were glaringly bad (mostly surrounding his loyalty to guys like Milbury, Snow, DiPietro, Yashin). He got alot of heat for that, and deservedly so.

But again, he left this team 1 million times better than they were when he bought them. I absolutely believe there should be some sort of dedication to him in the new Belmont Arena since this team (and the arena) doesn't exist without him.