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Governor Andrew Cuomo took a walk on the west side this afternoon to check progress at Pier 76 and announce the completion of the Javits Center extension.
Both projects are part of the Governor’s plans for Manhattan Midtown West, that include extending the High Line to Pier 76 and the construction of 10 super hightall towers in a redevelopment of Penn Station.
The $1.5 billion expansion of the Javits Convention Center will add a rooftop park and increase the space at the complex by 1.2 million square feet.
Through the pandemic, the Governor has been a regular visitor to Javits as it was transformed three times to rescue the city from a healthcare crisis. First, it was converted into a 2,500-bed emergency hospital, next it was used as a testing center and then, earlier this year, it became the flagship public vaccination center for the state. At times, it was administering 14,000 shots daily on a 24/7 schedule, with lines around the block.
The 3.3 million square feet center is allowed to host events from May 19 at 30% capacity.
“We want to have the biggest and the best. Why? Because we’re New York. And we should have the biggest and the best,” Cuomo said about the Javits expansion. “We worked to continue the project through COVID, because we knew we would need it post-COVID.”
The Governor took time during his visit to Hell’s Kitchen to look at how the demolition of the NYPD Tow Pound and transformation to a temporary public park was coming along at Pier 76. Cuomo has set a deadline of June 1 for completion of this section of Hudson River Park. He had a simple message from his visit: “It’s going to be great.”