What's New

The Big Apple remains a much-sought-after meeting and incentive destination, and new hotels and venues continue to spring up in some of the most unlikely areas of the city. The New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge is one example: The hotel is so popular that it recently expanded by adding a 24-story building with more guest rooms and meeting space. Northern New Jersey is also an attractive alternative to Midtown Manhattan. The state offers a list of 45 conference hotels within a 14-mile radius of NYC at www.state.nj.us/travel/meeting_45_hotels.

Manhattan's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center expansion, a project 10 years in the making, is finally a go. When it's finished in 2010, the Javits Center will go from the 16th-largest convention center in North America to No. 8. Exhibition space will expand from 760,000 to 1.1 million square feet. Meeting room space will increase from 30,000 to 210,000 square feet. The center will house the city's largest ballroom, with capacity for 6,000 people. A 1,500-room convention hotel is also planned.

Construction has begun on the Freedom Tower, a 1,776-foot skyscraper that will be the centerpiece of the World Trade Center site. The building is expected to open in 2011. The World Trade Center Memorial and Museum is expected to open in 2009.

Other attractions and landmarks in the news include a restoration of the James A. Farley General Post Office, a beautiful Beaux Arts building opposite Madison Square Garden. It will become the new home of Penn Station, a major transportation hub for the city.

Celebrating its 75th anniversary, the Empire State Building opened a second, even higher observation deck on the 102nd floor. In late 2007, the national Cartoon Museum, formerly the International Museum of Cartoon Art, will move into a new 15,000-square-foot space in the Empire State Building. The museum offers the world's largest collection of cartoon art, with more than 200,000 original cartoons, 10,000 books, and 1,000 hours of animation.

The Staten Island Ferry celebrated its 100th anniversary, and with that came the refurbishment of the terminals on both sides of the harbor. The Whitehall Terminal on the Manhattan side of the river received a 75-foot-high entry hall with views of the Manhattan skyline and the waterfront, rooftop viewing decks, and state-of-the-art public address systems. St. George Terminal on the Staten Island side now has floor-to-ceiling glass walls as well as retail shops.

The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn opened last April, welcoming some of the world's most magnificent cruise ships, among them Cunard Lines' Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2 and Princess Cruise Lines' Crown Princess and Star Princess.

Cirque du Soleil is looking to build a 1,800-seat theater on 42nd Street for year-round performances.

Harlem's Apollo Theater completed the first phase of a multimillion-dollar renovation that restored its façade and added a new box office and marquee. Phase Two will include refurbishing the theater auditorium and lobby.

In New Jersey, Delta has introduced nonstop service from Atlanta to Atlantic City International Airport. The service connects with nearly 200 destinations around the world via Delta's Atlanta hub. Delta also added service from Orlando to Atlantic City. Spirit Airlines resumed Detroit/Atlantic City service, which also connects with flights to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Facilities Update

New Jersey

• New York

  In Atlantic City, THE WALK, an upscale outlet shopping, dining, and entertainment complex along Michigan Avenue between the Convention Center and Atlantic Avenue, is expanding. It's adding five blocks (350,000 square feet) along both sides of the Atlantic City Expressway corridor at a cost of $155 million.

• Ask the CVB

  New Jersey

  HARRAH'S ATLANTIC CITY is adding a 47-story tower that will make Harrah's the tallest casino in Atlantic City and boost hotel capacity by 60 percent. The new tower will have 964 guest rooms, including 183 suites and 13 “super-suites”; a nightclub; retail space; restaurants; and a Red Door spa.

• New York

  The Borgata Hotel is adding a tower, THE WATER CLUB AT BORGATA. The $325 million, 43-story tower will have 800 guest rooms and suites; 18,000 square feet of meeting space; and a two-story, 36,000-square-foot spa. The Water Club is scheduled to open late this year.

• Phantom Planner

  TROPICANA CASINO AND RESORT opened a 25-room conference center in The Quarter, its $225 million expansion. The Quarter includes the conference center; a 502-room hotel; a spa; and retail, dining, and entertainment venues.