Add to that the fact that over 200 convention-types sent Cuomo a letter saying "Forget Queens" and that no one wanted the boondoggle.
I think Queens by itself is a more lucrative location than most US cities.
Not saying that the location of this proposal was right, but I don't think it's necessary to have our convention center in Midtown. And sooner or later, when the west side fills out, the Javits will be relocated.
There are railyard sites in the Bronx by Yankee Stadium I think could work.-and they're only two stops from Grand Central on Metro North. It would be a great boon to the borough.
It was the 60 minute ride from the proposed site to the action of midtown that had many up in arms.
But right now it takes them that long just to get from the airports to Javits and they have to take a cab.
The deal didn't collapse because of any protests.
Genting dropped out because they didn't get what they wanted.
Sunnyside Yard would be a great location if they could ever get their act together and cover that scorched earth gash in the landscape with a platform. You could even find some room to build an exclusive on/off ramp to the Queensboro bridgeOriginally Posted by Derek2k3
I live in Western Monmouth County (44 miles away) and during non rush hours it takes me about 65 minutes to get to the West Side of Manhattan by car. 80 minutes during rush hour on a nice day, 90 minutes on a rainy day. By taxi during non rush hour you can get from the Javits Center to EWR in 20 minutes. JFK would take a little longer as it's further and you eat up time driving cross town.
I don't think they're worried about time to/from the airport. I think it's about time to/from a Manhattan hotel.
For new convention center, all bets are on
Cuomo's gambling reversal gives Javits a shot at hotel, casino jackpot via Pier 76.
CRAIN'S NY
June 10, 2012
Pier 76 is home to the Police Department's tow pound and horse stables. But in the near future, it could become an extension of the neighboring Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, complete with a grand casino and luxury hotels.
Earlier this year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened to tear Javits down. Now the center's supporters, and perhaps even the governor, are weighing plans to expand the facility and make it part of a massive development project that will include a Las Vegas-style casino, hotels and retail along the Hudson River. The plan is gaining support from many corners, including individual members of Friends of the Hudson River Park Trust.
It's not an entirely new idea—parts of it first surfaced 20 years ago—but it's gaining renewed interest now that exclusive talks between the governor and casino operator Genting Americas about building such a facility at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens have ceased and an open bidding process for a mega-convention center in the city seems to be in the works.
All proposals suddenly are fair game, from plans to expand Javits to proposals to bring gamblers and conventioneers to sites ranging from Willets Point and Sunnyside, Queens, to the Yonkers Raceway in Westchester County to even Governors Island, which MGM looked at 14 years ago as a possible location for a casino.
Javits is currently undergoing a $463 million expansion and renovation. A further expansion has wide support from trade show and convention industry executives, who had been sidelined from earlier discussions with the governor (Crain's, May 21) and are now talking with all the major casino operators.
"They are asking us the same questions: Where and how big should the convention center be?" said Ken McAvoy, senior vice president of Reed Exhibitions, a major trade show producer. "They know that without the support of the customers, they won't get anything done."
The Javits plan has one big booster in William Wachtel, a well-connected real estate attorney who also owns a commuter ferry business, BillyBey Ferry Co., at nearby Pier 79 off 12th Avenue, a short walk from Javits.
Six years ago, Mr. Wachtel tried to interest public officials in a design he had commissioned that connects Javits to Pier 76 via a skywalk over the West Side Highway and replaces the tow pound at the pier with more than 1 million square feet of hotel, banquet and retail space, a winter garden, a 2.4-acre public park and an 800-car garage. It has also been identified by the operators of the London Eye as a possible spot for New York's own Ferris wheel, Mr. Wachtel said.
"The magnitude of what can be built on the site is enormous," Mr. Wachtel said last week, maintaining that his only motive is to improve the city, not to boost his ferry business.
He garnered some early interest in the plan from such political heavyweights as Charles Gargano, who was chairman of the Empire State Development Corp. at the time, and Dan Doctoroff, former deputy mayor for economic development.
Office of William Wachtel [+] Enlarge
A reimagined Javits convention center: could include a 1 million-square-foot
waterfront casino and hotel development, perhaps with a Ferris wheel similar to the London Eye.
"We wanted to pursue it," Mr. Gargano recalled. "But then [Gov. George] Pataki decided not to run for re-election, and we didn't have enough time to complete the process. My interest was in making Javits bigger. Connecting it to the pier with a skywalk makes sense."
It still makes sense, Mr. Wachtel insisted. "Now that Aqueduct has fallen apart, I think this idea has new life," said Mr. Wachtel, adding: "It is finally time to turn the most expensive parking lot in the world into an iconic part of the city, maybe even the site of the city's first hotel and casino."
The idea also has plenty of competition and could face fierce political opposition. The biggest casino companies in the world are now exploring their options. MGM Resorts International, for one, recently hired New York-based public relations and lobbying firms to represent it here.
"We have always believed that MGM's unique destination resort and convention experience is a great fit for New York, and it's now more clear than ever that the governor's vision creates an exciting opportunity for MGM," said Alan M. Feldman, senior vice president of public affairs for the company.
Others, such as Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands Corp., have also publicly expressed interest in New York.
Four viable sites in the city
According to the Regional Plan Association, an urban development advocacy group, there are at least four viable sites in the city for the mega-project, including Aqueduct. (Genting said last week it was still pursuing the project, and Mr. Cuomo said the company is still in the running.) The other locations RPA identified are closer to Manhattan than Aqueduct, which is one hour away by subway.
"The trade show industry has always told us that their customers want to at least see Manhattan," said Robert Yaro, president of RPA.
Willets Point, a 61-acre site in northeast Queens slated for redevelopment by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is seen as the trade show industry's first choice for a huge convention center—in addition to keeping Javits.
The city is close to a deal with the Related Cos. and New York Mets owner Sterling Equities to develop 12 acres at the site, which would include retail and residential units, but many hurdles remain, including a yearlong environmental study and City Council approval.
Sunnyside Yards in Long Island City, Queens, was suggested in 2007 as a possible site for relocating Javits. There is a 167-acre space, much of it used by Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road. The area is largely zoned for manufacturing. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's East Side Access project, once completed, will make the yards even more desirable for development once trains connect from Long Island City to Grand Central Terminal.
Governors Island is the least likely of the options, because it can be accessed only by ferry. Convention centers require easy access by 18-wheel trucks.
"If the state is reopening this process, it should look at the island," Mr. Yaro said, but added, "That is probably not a good use of the land."
The biggest impediment to a casino and convention hall project, however, is not a dearth of good sites but whether a constitutional amendment allowing full-scale gambling will pass in New York. The Legislature passed a proposed amendment this year to allow up to seven full casinos. A second vote must occur next year to confirm the intention; then New York voters would get their chance to weigh in on changing the state's constitution to legalize casino card games, roulette wheels, craps tables and other types of gaming.
What's more, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has voiced opposition to locating a casino in Manhattan.
Casino operators will most likely lose interest in New York—and their desire to fund a massive convention center—if the law is not enacted.
"Convention centers are not that profitable," said Mr. McAvoy. "I'm sure the casinos want to know that the law is passed [before they set up stakes here]."
A version of this article appeared in the Jun. 11, 2012, print issue of Crain's New York Business.
if anyone believes that I got a bridge to sell you....Mr. Wachtel said last week, maintaining that his only motive is to improve the city, not to boost his ferry business.
It's a 'ferry tale'.
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