Javits Expansion Gains Support, New Mtg. Bookings

Without enough space to hold mega-size trade shows, city and tourism officials claim that New York City was forced to turn away more than 170 meetings since 2000, resulting in a $1 billion loss of revenue. One remedy for this economic loss is starting to take shape: The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, located at 34th St., will expand from 760,000 to 1.1 million square feet and include a 600 percent increase in meeting space, from 30,000 to 210,000 square feet. The new center also will house the city's largest ballroom. To accommodate guests and tourists, a new hotel will be built directly across the street.

"The expansion of the Javits Center will help the revitalization of the West Side and increase the viability of bringing larger events to New York," said Jaclyn Bernstein, president and partner of Empire Force Events in Manhattan. "More space means flexibility to hold some of the largest conventions in the country. It would also mean that the people coming in for the conventions will be eating at our restaurants and shopping at our stores and using all other ancillary services."

Even in its infancy, the expansion plans were met with some opposition, including Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). The plans also were weighted down under criticisms when lumped in with a failed proposal for a new stadium for the New York Jets.

However, other local leaders have come out to support the $1.4 billion plan. City Council speaker Christine Quinn, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer joined NYC & Co. chairman Jonathan Tisch and president and CEO Cristyne Nicholas to officially endorse the proposed Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Expansion and Modernization Plan and called for the project to move forward without delay.

"As this project moves forward, I believe we will soon find that the word Javits is synonymous with the word jobs," said Stringer in a statement. The potential this expansion has for the working men and women in this city, our tourism industry and the city's economy as a whole is something we must embrace."

The next steps for the project include a public hearing, which will be held on May 15. After a 30-day comment period following the public hearing, the New York Convention Center Development Corp. and Empire State Development Corp. must affirm the general project plan. The Javits Operating Corp. and the Public Authority Control Board also must approve the plan. Pre-construction activities are planned immediately following PACB approval, with groundbreaking scheduled for later this year. This initial phase of the Javits expansion and renovation is expected to be completed in 2010.

Already, expansion buzz is paying off in convention commitments and revenue. According to NYC & Co., the city's official tourism marketing organization, nine new conventions representing 310,000 hotel room nights and $228 million in economic activity for the city already have signed letters of intent to bring their business to New York on the promise of a completed Javits Center expansion by 2010.

NYC & Co. has secured such groups as the American Library Association, American Chemical Society, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, American Association of Orthodontists, Global Dental Congress, International Philatelic Exhibition and the World Police and Fire Games.

Another organization that has already planned for future use of the site is the American Psychiatric Association. The group always plans its conventions at least 10 years down the road, and the annual convention typically draws more than 20,000 attendees. The expansion will provide ample room for all participants.

Tisch said, "Expanding the Javits Center now is the most important capital project that can be undertaken to support, strengthen and build the city's $21 billion tourism industry—a top generator of good jobs for New York. However, each day we delay, the city loses $1 million in economic activity from business we are forced to turn away due to lack of space or available dates. The coalition supports the Javits Expansion and Modernization Plan, a proposal that has the right mix of multi-functional space to secure New York's future with more economic opportunity, 6,000 permanent jobs and $47 million in additional annual city and state revenue.''

Actually, officials expect the expansion will create more than6,350 permanent jobsas well as nearly 15,460construction-related jobs during construction,including 8,735 direct construction jobs.The increased numbers of delegates and visitors would yield approximately 400,000 additional hotel room nights per year.

"The expansion of the Javits Center is crucial to smart development on the Far West Side of Manhattan," said New York state Sen. Eric Schneiderman. "In addition to creating thousands of jobs and generating hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity, the expansion will help catalyze the right kind of development along the Hudson River."

The JavitsNow coalition is a 50-organization-strong group supporting the plan and includes such organizations as Allied Building Metal Industries, Building Contractors Association, Greater New York Floor Coverers Association Inc., Hotel Association of New York City, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Reed Exhibitions and the Toy Industry Association of America, among others.

The coalition was formed in support of the Javits Expansion and Modernization Plan, a proposal designed to balance and meet the needs of the various stakeholders including the city's travel and tourism industry, the labor industry, convention center users, hotel developers, private business, facility security and the surrounding community.

New York Hotel Trades Council president Peter Ward stated, "An expanded convention center will significantly reduce and possibly even eliminate seasonal layoffs in the hotel industry. The increase in business at the Javits Center, along with the corresponding rise in visitor spending, will create even more good-paying jobs that will allow more working families to live in New York City."