JAVITS CONVENTION CENTER REDEVELOPMENT

A plan for the renovation and expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center was approved by the Public Authorities Control Board on July 26, 2006. Construction began on the site in October, 2006, starting with demolition of two buildings located on the northern end of the site. To accomodate the construction, fencing will be erected and 39th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues will be closed temorarily. Also in October, the City and State released a Request for Proposals, seeking a developer of a Convention Center Hotel to be built on 11th Avenue between 35th and 36th Streets. Phase I of the convention center expansion is expected to be completed in 2010.

New York City and Company maintains a website with links to press releases about Javits expansion and a Javits Fact Sheet. The Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at NYU has a Javits webpage with links to recent and historic press coverage of the expansion.

Board Comments
Manhattan Community Board No. 4 is generally supportive of Javits Center expansion, but has many concerns about the plan that was approved. While the Board commends the renewed attention to the Eleventh Avenue streetscape, our comments on the General Project Plan, approved by the Board on July 7, 2006, reflect community concerns with the size and shape of the proposed building, the large FAR allowances, and separation from the waterfront among other things.

On February 2, 2006, Board member Walter Mankoff, Co-Chair of the Chelsea Preservation and Planning Committe, testified to the State Assembly on an earlier form of the expansion proposal. The testimony questioned the appropriateness of the proposal and called on Javits to consider, in earnest, alternatives put forward by both the Newman Institute and the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association.