CITY EYES 3 QNS. SITES TO REPLACE JAVITS

By Tom Topousis NY Post
Like the neighborhood dry-cleaning store and the corner tavern, the Jacob Javits Convention Center is being priced out of Manhattan.

State officials who recently pulled the plug on an ambitious plan to expand the Javits on the far West Side are now turning their attention to three possible sites in Queens for a new mega-convention center.

All three sites - the Sunnyside rail yards, an industrial area at Willets Point and Aqueduct Race Track - offer something Manhattan has in short supply: relatively inexpensive land with access to mass transit and a network of highways.

"Queens has some obvious advantages because it's home to two airports," said Kathryn Wylde, president of the New York City Partnership. "And since government has to pay for a lot of the cost, using a prime piece of Manhattan real estate is not the highest and best use of scarce government dollars."

Pat Foye, chairman of the Empire State Development Corp., told a Senate committee that the state is committed to upgrading Javits and adding a modest expansion only as a short-term solution.

A task force will be formed to study the long-term options, all of which Foye said remain outside Manhattan. "The future of the convention center in the city of New York down the road will likely involve looking at options outside of Manhattan," Foye said.
So far, the only sites on the state and city's radar are the three in Queens.
Robert Lieber, deputy mayor for economic development, said all three options have to be explored given the enormous costs of expanding in Manhattan and the changing nature of the neighborhood around Javits, now rezoned for housing and office towers.

"All three have possibilities and liabilities," Lieber said. "To do big conventions and trade shows you need land."

In terms of raw space available on a relatively flat building site, Lieber said Aqueduct stands out.
A large site, he said, Aqueduct allows for easy truck loading, plenty of parking and lots of room for the large, single-floor convention hall needed for the big shows.

But Lieber said there will always be a need for a smaller conference center in Manhattan, possibly using part of the current Javits site in the future to complement the big hall.