Top priority in the general project plan released by the New York Convention Center Development Corp. is a full roof replacement with a "green" roof. Parts of the 23-year-old convention center's existing roof are said to leak during especially rainy weather. Other renovations will include replacing the exterior curtain wall to create a translucent façade for the "Crystal Palace," installing high-efficiency rooftop mechanical units and repairs and upgrading of building systems.

The 100,000-square-foot expansion will contain 40,000 net square feet of exhibition space, down from earlier iterations of the plan that would have expanded the current 790,000 square feet of convention space by 500,000 square feet or more. A headquarters hotel that was part of the $1.7-billion expansion approved by the Public Authorities Control Board in July 2006 is not within the scope of the current plan.

Addressing the New York Building Congress in February '08, Spitzer said he "couldn't rationalize" the cost of expanding the Javits Center, which he said had ballooned from the projected $1.7 billion to $5 billion. His successor, David Paterson, declared his support for a scaled-down expansion shortly after taking office. In a statement issued Tuesday, Paterson says "we have taken the realities of the current economic climate into account and made adjustments so that we can move forward."