ALBANY — State lawmakers say they won a tug of war with Gov. Cuomo over the future of the Javits Center by forcing him to yank the sale of part of the West Side site from his budget.
Cuomo had proposed selling land next to Javits in what would have been the first step in a plan to convert the entire state-owned parcel into a Battery Park City-type development.
The proposal calls for Javits to be replaced by a convention center near Aqueduct Racetrack to be developed by racino operator Genting.
But lawmakers nixed the sale in the budget — which they finished passing yesterday — saying that with no convention center at Aqueduct yet, it’s too soon to mess with Javits.
“We’re not going to shut down conventions in New York,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan).
“Javits is going to be operating for a while, and the adjacent land, which was proposed for immediate sale, is the area that’s used for staging convention events,” added Silver.
“We’re looking for a total resolution of Genting, Aqueduct and everything, and until that’s resolved, there’s no need” for the sale, said Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-LI).
But a high-level Cuomo-administration source downplayed the matter, saying the proposal was yanked once it was realized the property is needed for the upcoming auto show.
Additional reporting by Fredric U. Dicker