WHAT'S NEW

In 2004, nearly 40 million visitors generated $24 billion for New York City's economy. New hotels and housing are popping up all over Manhattan, including properties in Harlem, Tribeca, and the Lower East Side. Times Square, the pulse of the city, recently celebrated its 100th anniversary.

With high occupancies come high hotel rates, so meetings and incentive programs often need to look beyond midtown Manhattan for availability. Quality hotels and venues are located throughout Manhattan and its boroughs, the counties surrounding New York City, and in New Jersey, where Atlantic City continues to be an attractive draw for meetings and incentive programs.

In midtown Manhattan, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is finally slated to get a headquarters hotel. A two-phase expansion over the next five to eight years will nearly double the center's exhibition space to 1.3 million square feet and add an 86,000-square-foot ballroom. The new Javits Ballroom will be the largest in the city and will seat 6,000 delegates. A new 1,500-room hotel will connect to the Javits Center by a 95-foot walkway. Both the ballroom and the hotel are part of the first phase of the expansion project and are due for completion in 2010. The Javits Transportation Center opens early this year, with bus and limo service to the airports and around town.

At the airports, AirTrain provides traffic-free access to John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. The JFK AirTrain is a light-rail system that links the airport to New York's subway system and the Long Island Railroad. Newark AirTrain connects with New Jersey Transit commuter and Amtrak regional trains and takes passengers to airline terminals, rental car facilities, and hotel shuttles.

At JFK, American Airlines will convert terminals 8 and 9 into one 55-gate terminal by 2007, and JetBlue is building a 640,000-square-foot passenger terminal with 26 gates in the former TWA flight center. JetBlue began low-fare flights to Boston's Logan International Airport in November.

Construction of the revised Freedom Tower at the site of Ground Zero is slated to begin in the first quarter of this year. The building will be 1,776 feet tall and will stand on the northwest corner of the World Trade Center site. The tower will emit light from the spire, and its design will evoke the style of classic New York skyscrapers. The building aims to be a model of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability and will be visible above grade in 2007, with a topping out scheduled for 2009.

FACILITY UPDATES

NEW JERSEY

• The WESTIN GOVERNOR MORRIS in Morristown reopened after a multimillion-dollar renovation that included upgrading all 224 guest rooms, expanding meeting space, and adding a restaurant and fitness center.

• The TROPICANA CASINO AND RESORT won the 2005 New Jersey Governor's Award for Tourism Excellence for Atlantic City's largest nongaming expansion last April: The Quarter at Tropicana. It has more than 40 dining, entertainment, shopping, and spa options, including The Palm, Carmine's, Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar, Red Square, Ri Ra Irish Pub & Restaurant, Comedy Stop Café & Cabaret, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, A Dam Good Crab Shack, and Brulee: The Dessert Experience, as well as bluemercury spa & apothecary. Dozens of shops and entertainment venues are sprinkled throughout The Quarter, including Atlantic City's only IMAX theater. The Tropicana, New Jersey's largest hotel, has more than 2,100 guest rooms and over 122,000 square feet of function space.

• SHOWBOAT completed its HOUSE OF BLUES addition last summer. Part of the new venue is the 22,000-square-foot HOUSE OF BLUES CONCERT HALL, which includes a 10,000-square-foot special-events arena.

• TRUMP TAJ MAHAL is undergoing extensive renovations, including the upgrade of some 800 rooms. Hotel rooms and public space are being equipped with wireless Internet access, and each guest room will have digital movie systems. Completion is scheduled for this year.

• BORGATA HOTEL's proposed expansion of a $347 million, 45-story hotel tower with 500 guest rooms, 100 suites, and 200 luxury condos is scheduled for completion by second quarter 2007.

NEW YORK

• The 610-room HARD ROCK HOTEL (formerly the Paramount) was recently reflagged and will make its debut this year after a multimillion-dollar refurbishment. The hotel will house the HARD ROCK CAFÉ, which moves from 57th Street.

• AFFINIA MANHATTAN, formerly the Southgate Tower, has completed a $3.3 million renovation.

• The 22-suite BLUE MOON HOTEL opens this year as Manhattan's only kosher hotel, in a beautifully restored tenement building.

• COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT NEW YORK MANHATTAN/UPPER EAST SIDE is scheduled to open in February with 210 rooms and 16 suites on East 92nd at York Avenue. Just steps from Museum Mile and renowned health-care facilities, including Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital, it will feature free high-speed Internet access, a fitness center, a business center, and meeting space that accommodates up to 122 attendees.

• After a $20 million renovation, the 225-room HOTEL 57 is scheduled to open in the spring on East 57th Street as a full-service hotel.

• The 186-room GRAMERCY PARK HOTEL is scheduled to open this spring. Ian Schrager's latest hotel project will make its debut after a complete overhaul of one of the city's legendary hotels.

• NEW YORK MARRIOTT AT THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE broke ground on a 24-story expansion. It will add 282 guest rooms and 2,000 square feet of meeting space, for a total of 658 guest rooms and 30,000 square feet of meeting space. Construction is scheduled to be complete this fall.

ASK THE CVB

NEW JERSEY

NEW JERSEY COMMERCE & ECONOMICGROWTH COMMISSION
(609) 292-9511
www.state.nj.us/travel/meetings/index.html

ATLANTIC CITY CONVENTION & VISITORS AUTHORITY
(888) 222-3683, (609) 348-7100
www.atlanticcitynj.com
Total Hotel Tax: 13%

NEW YORK

NYC & COMPANY
(212) 484-1200
www.nycvisit.com
Total Hotel Tax: 13.625% + $3.50 per room occupancy

WESTCHESTER COUNTY

WESTCHESTER COUNTY OFFICE OF TOURISM
(800) 833-9282
www.westchestertourism.com

PHANTOM PLANNER

• Special events reach a new high this fall when Top of the Rock, the observation deck at Rockefeller Center, opens to the public for the first time in 20 years. Located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, this 55,000-square-foot facility offers 360-degree views of New York City and features space for private functions. www.topoftherocknyc.com.

• Hold a private concert at BB King's Blues Club and Grill in Times Square. The Classic Supper Club & Restaurant is equipped with the latest audiovisual equipment. The Music Room and Lucille's Grill can accommodate groups for receptions or dinner. Visit www.bbkingblues.com.

• Go organic. Whole Foods Catering can provide you with boxed lunches for a picnic in the park, gift baskets, breakfast foods for a meeting, or hors d'oeuvres for a cocktail reception. Visit www.wholefoods.com.

• Take advantage of Atlantic City's seaside location and book a cruise for dining, touring, or a fishing tournament. Atlantic City Cruises, Atlantic City Fishing Center, Kammerman's Atlantic City Marina, and Keeper Back Bay Fishing offer a variety of options for group events.

Special Venues

• In ROCKEFELLER CENTER, RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL (www.radiocity.com) operates as a full-service facility with the Great Stage, Grand Foyer, Grand Lounge, and Roxy Suite available for cocktail receptions, press conferences, product launches, and more.

• In QUEENS, the MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (35th Avenue at 36th Street, Astoria, www.movingimage.us) has three floors of interactive exhibits and film and television artifacts. It can hold receptions for up to 600 guests. The theater is equipped for several formats of film, video, and computer data, and seats 200.

• The NATIONAL SPORTS MUSEUM, (25 Broadway, www.thesportsmuseum.com) slated to open late this year, will be the new permanent home of the Heisman Trophy. The museum offers two event spaces for up to 2,000 people.

• BATTERY GARDENS, in Battery Park, (www.batterygardens.com), has spectacular panoramic views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, floor-to-ceiling windows, a wood-burning fireplace, and two wraparound terraces. The Harbor View Room holds 100 to 350, the Garden Suite 5 to 60, and the Fine Dining Room and Patio 50 to 130.

• WEBSTER HALL (125 E. 11th St., www.websterhall.com) is a 40,000-square- foot landmark site that can host parties for 100 to 2,500 people. This East Village venue offers six separate lounges and services that include bartenders, security, deejays, and lighting.