Corkscrew Configuration Adds Twist to Javits Saga

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Chairman Robert Boyle was recently removed from his post after objecting to the latest expansion plan, which calls for a marshaling garage that would force exhibit-laden semis to navigate a six-story spiral.

But that doesn't mean that objections over the marshaling garage have died down. Instead, they seem to be getting louder.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote in a recent newspaper opinion piece that the vertical marshaling area would lead "to logistical nightmares for tradeshow operators forced to haul their freight up as many as five stories."

Representatives from Freeman, the general service contractor that handles the bulk of Javits shows, are even more adamant that the vertical plan won't work.

"Our position is, we'd certainly prefer to have a horizontal marshaling yard like everywhere else. We absolutely question the functionality of that kind of a setup and whether it's going to be productive," said John O'Connell, Freeman vice president and COO, calling the problem "a strategic threat to our business."

At best, the configuration would add time and expense to move-in. But O'Connell said he isn't sure that move-in would even be possible under the present plan.

"We question the turning radiuses and the ability of truck drivers to go up that thing. It's a challenge to go up even one story," he said. "Architects claim all this should be possible. But it's something we haven't seen before and doesn't exist in our space."

Previously, a three-level marshaling yard was planned on the center's south side between 33rd and 34th streets. Now, property between 33rd and 34th will be sold for commercial development, and the six-level marshaling garage built on the north side, between 39th and 40th streets.

Planners contend the new area will handle loading, unloading and parking of 300 trucks at different levels of the center.

Deborah Wetzel, a spokeswoman for Empire State Development Corp., said the 200-foot-diameter ramp, which worked with computer graphic truck-turning programs, is just one option. "As we continue to refine our designs — with continued input from the convention center users — we have also studied a number of designs that utilize more traditional straight ramps," she said.

Other aspects of the plan — such as adding more loading docks — are intended to help speed up move-in and move-out, Wetzel added.

O'Connell's comments echoed those that Boyle made before he was removed from his post as chairman of the New York Convention Center Operating Corp.

The longtime Javits administrator had argued, during a Dec. 14 state Assembly committee hearing, that the marshaling plan was unsuitable for security and operational reasons. He said boxes in every truck lining up to unload would have to be inspected, adding greatly to move-in times. And trucks would have difficulty making their way down the corkscrew tunnel.

Boyle hasn't changed his opinion. "This plan is fatally flawed," he said. "The freight rates will be more than any of the current and future potential shows will be able to pay."

If the current plan goes through, Boyle predicted, the convention center will need large state subsidies in order to remain in business.

In the meantime, the new Javits operating chairman, Joseph Spinnato, president of the Hotel Assn. of New York City, has been trying to move the project forward.

As is common with such massive public-works projects, the timeline for the expansion plan has been pushed back. The original schedule called for environmental and public reviews to wrap up in 2004 and construction to kick off in 2005. Under the new timetable, backers hope for a summer groundbreaking and 2010 completion.

The earlier $1.4 billion expansion plan approved by the state Legislature in late 2003 called for the center's 814,000 square feet of exhibit space — including the 54,000 sq. ft. temporary structure build by George Little Management — to be expanded to 1.3 million sq. ft.

Although the project's cost has since increased to $1.7 billion, the amount of added exhibit space has shrunk. Instead of 476,000 sq. ft. of new space, only 276,000 sq. ft. will now be added, giving the Javits 1.1 million sq. ft. of exhibit space.

Schumer also took issue with that in his opinion piece, saying the facility wouldn't be big enough to host the largest tradeshows and conventions, and would leave the nation's largest city lagging behind smaller cities such as Boston, Chicago and Las Vegas.

The Convention Center Development Corp. and Empire State Development Corp. on April 5 gave preliminary approval to the expansion. The agencies will collect public comments and have set a May 15 public hearing. The plan must be approved by the center operating corporation, and returned to the CCDC and ESDC for final approval. The N.Y. State Public Authorities Control Board must also give its blessing.

In the meantime, O'Connell said he's been sharing his concerns with the architects. "It's still a work in progress. In fairness to the architects, they want to deliver the best product," he said.