Bigger, better Javits Center touted as
key to New York City’s recovery
BY DEAN MOSES
New York always does it bigger and
better, and for Governor Andrew
Cuomo, that means a recovery that
includes numerous construction efforts to
reinvigorate the state’s economy — especially
in Manhattan.
Governor Andrew Cuomo came to the
Jacob Javits Convention Center on Tuesday
to announce a major expansion of the Far
West Side event mecca.
Over the past year, the Javits Center has
become a shifting symbol throughout the
COVID-19 pandemic, transforming from a
convention hub to a temporary hospital at
the height of the pandemic last spring, to
an ongoing vaccination site today.
Now, as New York sees the light at the
end of the pandemic tunnel, Cuomo said
the Javits Center will be the fi rst of many
Empire State institutions to be renewed —
growing into an even bigger venue to bring
back business.
“It couldn’t come at a better time. We
worked to continue the project through
COVID because we knew we would need it
post COVID. That is exactly what has been
accomplished here today. As the economy
is reopening and crowds are regathering,
Alan Steel, the president and CEO of Jacob Javits Center showcases new
development space.
we have the place for them to come at the
new Javits Convention Center,” Cuomo
said, describing the site as a multipurpose
facility that could accommodate a wide
variety of events.
Through $1.5 billion in expansion efforts,
the new construction will create
1.2 million square feet of space, making it
the biggest venue in the city at 3.3 million
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
total square feet. That includes more than
200,000 square feet of meeting room
space, 54,000 square-feet of additional
special event space, a four-level 27-loading
dock facility, a rooftop area that will
include a pavilion, terrace, greenhouse and
a small, one acre farm.
The expansion had been in the works
since before the pandemic, and though it
was halted due to non-essential construction
restrictions, the project remains on budget.
The governor’s offi ce said it will create 6,000
new jobs and generate $400 million in additional
economic activity annually.
Cuomo shared that while the Javits
Center still functions as a vaccination site,
since it is such a large-scale venue, the
convention hall will still be able to hold
events, albeit at 30% capacity, and with
the State Department of Health protocols
in place starting on May 19.
Alan Steel, the President and CEO of
Jacob Javits Center, was happy to share the
move to becoming once again an economic
engine bringing back tourism and business
to the city.
“The reality for us as we went through
a period of being a hospital and still now a
period of now being a vaccination center is
that we never lost sight of what was coming
and with the Governor’s support we saw
the future as bright. What we are seeing
now is the culmination of many years of
effort,” Steel said.
Cuomo also announced a new round
of the Regional Economic Development
Council Initiative, awarding $750 million
to creative minds. The deadline for this
application is July 30.
Police presence up in wake of Times Sq. shooting
BY ALEJANDRA O'CONNELLDOMENECH
More NYPD offi cers will guard
Times Square after three people,
including a child, were injured
during a shooting at the intersection on
Saturday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said May 10.
The department will deploy members of
the Critical Response Command, a division
of the NYPD focused on counterterrorism,
at the popular tourist destination. It is unclear
exactly how many additional offi cers
will be deployed at the junction.
“We’re putting additional NYPD resources
in the Time Square area to add
an extra measure of protection,” said de
Blasio. ” You’ll see an additional presence.
I think there may be some other areas as
well where you’ll see that and it’s important
to show people that presence, I think it is
reassuring and helpful.”
The mayor assured visitors New York
City is safe and argued recent spikes in gun
violence will go down as more pandemic
restrictions are lifted. “It is an overwhelmingly
safe city. When you look at New
The scene at Times Square following a shooting on May 8, 2021.
York City compared to cities around the
country, around the world, this is a very
safe place and there’s more and more activity,”
said de Blasio. “The city is clearly
coming back. People are starting to come
here much earlier actually than I thought
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
they would. We’re starting to see tourism
come back already. I thought it would go
into the summer before we’d see that kind
of come back.”
Last month, de Blasio promised to fully
reopen the city by July 1 roughly 15 months
after the city was fi rst shut down due to the
novel coronavirus.
On Monday, NYPD offi cers identifi ed a
suspect in Saturday’s shooting, Farrakhan
Muhammad, who detectives believe was
trying to shoot his brother, according to
NBC News. Instead, the shooter missed
and struct a 4-year-old girl in the leg as
she was shopping for toys with her family
and two tourists at the busy intersection.
De Blasio commended the NYPD offi
cers treated the victims on Saturday, one
of whom sprinted to the injured child to
tie a small tourniquet around her leg. “I
want to thank all the men and women of
the NYPD who immediately on the scene
to protect everyone there and to address the
situation,” said de Blasio. “Thank God, the
three people who were hit by the gunfi re
are all out of the hospital and it looks like
they’ll make a strong recovery.”
No arrests had been made as this
paper went to press Wednesday. Anyone
with information regarding the
shooting can call Crime Stoppers at
800-577-TIPS. All calls and messages
are kept confidential.
Schneps Media May 13, 2021 3