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Would New York City attract as many conventioneers if its newest and largest convention center is in Queens rather than Manhattan? Hoteliers and others began debating that question when New York governor Andrew Cuomo proposed plans to build a 3.8-million square-foot convention center—the nation’s largest—at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, about 16 miles from Midtown Manhattan. Gaming development company Genting Group will invest $4 billion in the new convention center, adding some 3,000 hotel rooms to the area. The move has already prompted Manhattan hoteliers to consider whether they’d need to add a free or paid shuttle to the new convention center. In the meantime, the Jacob J. Javits Convention Center, located on Manhattan’s West Side at 11th Avenue between 34th and 39th streets, is in the middle of renovations, which should be completed by 2013. Plans include turning the center into a state-of-the-art, mixed-use facility, with housing, hotels and office space.

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