MAYOR ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY, STATE, FEDERAL ELECTED LEADERS LAUNCH BID FOR 2024 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION

 

Madison Square Garden and Jacob K. Javits Center to Be Primary Event Sites

 

Convention Would Provide Significant Boost to City’s Economy With Tens of Thousands of Visitors, Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Economic Activity

 New York City Mayor Eric Adams, joined by New York City, state, and federal elected officials, today launched the city’s bid to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC). While making all major venues available for the convention, the bid proposes Madison Square Garden as the primary event site, with the Jacob K. Javits Center available to host different components of the event, allowing the entire convention — from venues and office space to hotels and media — to take place within a 20-minute walk. The bid will be formally submitted today ahead of the May 27^th deadline tomorrow.

 

“This is the most diverse city in America, and one that reflects the face of not only the democratic party, but the entire nation. There is no better place for the DNC to host their convention than New York City, which is why we are proud to submit our bid today for the 2024 convention,” said Mayor Adams. “New York City was epicenter of the pandemic, and now we’re leading the recovery. And the convention will pour hundreds of millions of additional dollars into our economy in a part of the city that was among the hardest hit. New York City is the biggest stage in the world, and we want to welcome the DNC here to celebrate democracy, freedom, and progress.”

 

“Today is an exciting day as leaders from our business, hospitality, civic, and cultural communities stand together ready to welcome the 2024 Democratic National Convention to New York City,” said Deputy Mayor for Economy and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer. “No city in the country is better positioned to support the complex needs of the convention or provide such a high-quality experience for delegates. We would be proud to welcome visitors from across the country to experience New York City’s unrivaled amenities, support our local businesses, and send a clear message that New York City is back and better than ever.”

A map of the hotels, amenities, and other landmarks in the neighborhood immediately surrounding Madison Square Garden, the primary venue in the city’s 2024 DNC bid (credit: New York City Mayor’s Office)

Hosting the convention would provide a significant boost to New York City’s economy, directly benefiting many of the Midtown Manhattan small businesses that were particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2016 convention — the last in-person Democratic National Convention — Philadelphia reported $230.9 million in economic activity and over 54,000 visitors to the region, and city officials project that that number even larger numbers for 2024.

 

The proposal has received support from numerous entities across New York City’s public and private sectors, including over 40 formal letters of support from leaders in government, business, hospitality, cultural institutions, and labor, such as New York’s congressional delegation, New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, the New York City Hospitality Alliance, the Broadway League, and the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union.

 

More than 45,000 hotel rooms sit within a one-mile radius of the proposed convention sites. At the same time, the city has already secured commitments from 86 hotels to provide nearly 14,500 hotel rooms to delegates and other convention visitors. Madison Square Garden’s central location also places it just blocks away from major cultural institutions and national landmarks like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Broadway theaters, and Rockefeller Center, as well as the headquarters of major media networks and thousands of restaurants, bars, shops, and other small businesses.

 

The proposal also highlights the city’s extensive experience providing security for high-profile events and a range of convenient transportation options, including three national airports offering nonstop service to 2,000 cities in the United States and around the world and a rich public transit system with trains, buses, ferries, and quick-rental Citi Bike bicycles for travel in and around the city.

 

“New York City is primed and prepared to host the DNC for the 2024 convention, and we are eager to showcase everything the Big Apple has to offer,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Andrew Kimball. “The hundreds of millions of dollars generated by the convention would significantly help support the ongoing recovery for numerous businesses, retailers, hotels, restaurants, and more that suffered during the pandemic. The city has the spirit, energy, and resiliency to host the convention that shapes the future of democracy in our nation.”