Bloomberg earmarks $104M for tabled Javits Center overhaul plan

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s capital budget allocates $104 million for a Javits Center overhaul that has been shelved for years, according to the Observer. The original 2006 plan was a $1.6 billion modernization and expansion of the convention center, for which the city pledged $350 million. In 2008, that idea was scaled back to a $463 million renovation, paid for by a hotel room tax, but the Javits Center has since remained in the city’s budget, albeit at a diminished sum. It’s unclear where the extra $294 million was moved, though the mayor’s office has previously said the Javits Center fund would go toward Brooklyn Bridge Park and Governors Island. [NYO]