NEW YORK CITY—The New York Building Congress has released a report that recommends the city ramp up its investment in infrastructure projects geared to sustaining and expanding its cultural and tourism industries. One of the report's chief recommendations is the development of a second convention center outside of Manhattan.

The report calls for the city to explore a second convention/exhibition center in an outer borough to compliment the existing Javits Center. The new facility would offer larger expo space and have a focus on exhibits and trade shows with large local attendance. The new convention center would enable the Javits Center to host more conventions and conferences with national and international attendee bases.

The report, a collaboration between the New York Building Congress and New York Building Foundation, also calls for the hotel industry and other private sector partners to build more meeting space in strategic locations in all five boroughs.

The Building Congress report detailed the tremendous impact tourism has on the city's economy. The survey identified 168 recent and current cultural and tourism related projects with combined construction costs of more than $9.4 billion slated for completion before 2020, and an additional 155 projects with almost $7.1 billion in total construction costs that are in the planning pipeline.

Carlo A. Scissura, president and CEO of the Building Congress, pointed to the significant capital being invested in tourism-related industries, but noted the city needs to make it easier for visitors to get around, particularly to destinations in the outer boroughs. “The good news is we have a working blueprint for growing New York City as a major cultural hub and top destination for leisure and business travelers. To get there, we need ongoing collaboration between, and continued capital commitments from, the city, state and private sector to maintain the momentum we've worked so hard to build.”

The multiplier effects of tourism related construction adds billions of dollars to the regional economy. The construction of recently completed or under construction tourism and culture projects will add an estimated $12.9 billion in total economic output and more than $5.9 billion in total wages to the New York City economy. Additionally, the construction of planned projects is expected to spark another $9.7 billion in total economic output and $4.5 billion in total earnings in New York City.

The report also indicated that there is $25.5 billion in current/recent capital investment in transportation that is estimated to generate $35 billion in total economic output and $16.1 billion in total earnings. In total, planned transportation projects are estimated to require $32.3 billion in construction spending. This direct spending is estimated to catalyze a total of $44.3 billion in economic output and $20.3 billion in earnings.

Other recommendations from the report included the creation of a Cultural Institutions Development Task Force to help plan a five-borough planning and investment strategy. The task force's efforts would revolve around exploring planning tools, capital funding and transportation improvements that would encourage visitors to explore new destinations and expand options for users of the city's cultural assets. One such existing initiative is the Brooklyn Cultural District, which the Building Congress suggests should serve as a model in each of the outer boroughs.

A critical facet of growing tourism and culture in the city is to continue to invest in transportation projects that provide easy access to tourist destinations. In that vein, the report suggests completing the transformation of LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark airports, as well as the creation of a new station on the #7 subway line, an extension of the #1 subway line into Governors Island and Red Hook, and the development of the BQX streetcar to create access to important emerging cultural districts.

Other transportation improvements call for improved access to cultural attractions in the boroughs outside Manhattan. Options include the creation of additional New York City Ferry routes serving Coney Island and points in Staten Island beyond St. George, including Snug Harbor and the South Shore; better access and signage for pedestrians from the Brooklyn Bridge into Downtown Brooklyn and better shuttle transportation to cultural attractions in Queens.

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Report: Second NYC Convention Center Needed to Compliment Javits

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