City guide · New York City area · Updated
Exhibiting in New York means choosing between very different buildings. The Javits on the far west side has about 500,000 sq ft of contiguous space, a four-level truck garage and the strictest self-install rule on this page. Midtown's conference hotels put exhibit halls on upper floors reached by freight elevator from side-street docks. Outside Manhattan, halls in White Plains, Uniondale, Secaucus and Edison offer parking, ground-level docks and drayage planned at roughly half the Javits rate.
Photo: "Javits Center" by ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/83136374@N05/20019163893.
Venues with guides
This page covers the five Manhattan venues we have guides for, the Javits, three Midtown conference hotels and Metropolitan Pavilion, plus four suburban halls that New York-area shows use when they don't need Manhattan: the Westchester County Center in White Plains, Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, and the Meadowlands Exposition Center and NJ Convention & Exposition Center in New Jersey. Farther venues such as Poughkeepsie and Atlantic City are on the state pages.
Javits CenterNew York · Convention center8 shows listed
New York Marriott MarquisNew York · Convention hotel
New York Hilton MidtownNew York · Convention hotel
Sheraton New York Times SquareNew York · Convention hotel
Metropolitan PavilionNew York · Loft event venue
Westchester County CenterWhite Plains · Expo center5 shows listed
Nassau ColiseumUniondale · Arena + expo center
Meadowlands Exposition CenterSecaucus, NJ · Exhibition hall
NJ Convention & Exposition CenterEdison, NJ · Exhibition hallSide by side
Largest space, ceiling, labor and a planning drayage rate for each venue we have a guide for. Drayage figures are Purple planning rates, not published tariffs; the last column is the straight-line distance from the Javits.
| Venue | Type | Largest space | Ceiling | Labor | Drayage (plan) | Airport | From Javits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Javits CenterNew York | Convention center | ~500,000 sq ft contiguous (Level 3) | Varies by hall · check plan | Union · 250 sq ft rule | ≈ $195/cwt | EWR / LGA / JFK · 45–70 min | — |
| New York Marriott MarquisNew York | Convention hotel | ≈ 30,000 sq ft Broadway Ballroom · 101,000 sq ft total | 12 ft Westside Ballroom · Broadway not listed | Union · show contractor | ≈ $185/cwt | LGA · ~40 min | ≈ 0.9 mi |
| New York Hilton MidtownNew York | Convention hotel | ≈ 24,700 sq ft Americas Hall I · 150,000+ sq ft total | Not listed in our guide | Union · show contractor | ≈ $185/cwt | LGA · ~35 min | ≈ 1.3 mi |
| Sheraton New York Times SquareNew York | Convention hotel | 13,768 sq ft Metropolitan Ballroom · 62,000 sq ft total | 21 ft (Metropolitan Ballroom) | Union · show contractor | ≈ $185/cwt | LGA · ~35 min | ≈ 1.1 mi |
| Metropolitan PavilionNew York | Loft event venue | ≈ 25,000 sq ft Level 1 · 45,000 sq ft on four floors | 12–16 ft (Level 1) | Follows each fair's contractor | ≈ $150/cwt | LGA · ~35 min | ≈ 1.3 mi |
| Westchester County CenterWhite Plains | Expo center | 26,720 sq ft Main Hall | 42 ft Main Hall · 10.8 ft Exhibit Hall | Self-setup OK · check kit | ≈ $95/cwt | HPN · ~5 mi | ≈ 23 mi |
| Nassau ColiseumUniondale | Arena + expo center | 60,000 sq ft Expo Center · 44,000 sq ft arena floor | Not listed in our guide | Self-setup at most shows · check kit | ≈ $95/cwt | JFK · ~30 min | ≈ 22 mi |
| Meadowlands Exposition CenterSecaucus, NJ | Exhibition hall | 61,000 sq ft column-free hall | Not listed in our guide | Union · show contractor | ≈ $110/cwt | EWR · ~20 min | ≈ 3.6 mi |
| NJ Convention & Exposition CenterEdison, NJ | Exhibition hall | 135,500 sq ft single-level hall | Not listed in our guide | Union · show contractor | ≈ $105/cwt | EWR · ~30 min | ≈ 23 mi |
Figures come from each venue guide; open a guide for its sources, hall tables and dock details. “Not listed in our guide” means that guide does not give the figure.
Where they are
Each venue plotted from its coordinates. The five Manhattan venues sit within about two miles of each other, so they are drawn again in a close-up; the four suburban halls ring the city to the north, east and west.
The calendar
Almost every dated show below is at the Javits or the Westchester County Center, the two New York guides we have checked against organizer sites for 2026–27. The Midtown hotels book conferences rather than public shows, and the Pavilion, Coliseum, Meadowlands and Edison halls change their calendars each year, so their guides describe the kinds of events they host instead of dates. Confirm every show with its organizer before you book freight.
Every New York City trade show for 2027, with booth options: see our New York City show pages →
Home improvement, landscaping, remodeling · 2027
Westchester County Center
Bridal and wedding vendors · one day · 2027
Westchester County Center
Automotive, consumer · ~1 million visitors · 2027
Javits Center
These come from the event tables in our older venue guides. They describe the kinds of events each venue hosts and when, not confirmed dates, so check each organizer before you plan.
| Event | When | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Technology user conferencesSponsor pavilions in the Broadway Ballroom | Spring and fall | New York Marriott Marquis |
| Association annual meetingsExhibit hall in the Westside Ballroom | Spring, fall | New York Marriott Marquis |
| Media, advertising and publishing eventsBranded environments and stages | Spring upfront season | New York Marriott Marquis |
| Consumer pop-ups and fan eventsBallroom activations | Around NYCC and Anime NYC weeks | New York Marriott Marquis |
| Medical and scientific society meetingsExhibit hall in Americas Hall I and II, posters | Spring and fall | New York Hilton Midtown |
| Technology and cybersecurity conferencesSponsor pavilions in Americas Hall | Spring, fall | New York Hilton Midtown |
| Real estate, legal and HR conferencesTabletops and 10×10s | Fall, winter | New York Hilton Midtown |
| Technology and marketing conferencesSponsor rows in the Metropolitan Ballroom | Spring, fall | Sheraton New York Times Square |
| Medical and dental meetingsExhibit hall plus posters | Spring, fall | Sheraton New York Times Square |
| Education, franchise and career exposRows of 10×10s open to the public | Winter, spring | Sheraton New York Times Square |
| Long Island home and remodeling showsHome improvement | Winter and spring | Nassau Coliseum |
| Long Island business and networking exposBusiness services | Spring, fall | Nassau Coliseum |
| Bridal, baby and family exposConsumer | Winter, fall | Nassau Coliseum |
| Health, wellness and senior exposHealthcare | Spring, fall | Nassau Coliseum |
| Auto, boat and outdoor showsAutomotive and marine | Winter, spring | Nassau Coliseum |
| Job and career fairsEmployment | Spring, fall | Nassau Coliseum |
| East Coast ComiconComics and pop culture | Spring | Meadowlands Exposition Center |
| Home and garden showsHome improvement | Winter, spring | Meadowlands Exposition Center |
| Bridal and consumer lifestyle showsConsumer | Winter, fall | Meadowlands Exposition Center |
| Job and career fairsEmployment | Spring, fall | Meadowlands Exposition Center |
| AnimeNEXTAnime and Japanese pop culture | Summer | NJ Convention & Exposition Center |
| Home and garden showsHome improvement | Winter, spring | NJ Convention & Exposition Center |
| Health and wellness exposHealthcare, fitness | Spring, fall | NJ Convention & Exposition Center |
| Regional B2B and manufacturing exposIndustrial and business services | Fall | NJ Convention & Exposition Center |
Dates are copied from each venue guide's calendar (organizer and venue sites, checked October 2026); only shows ending on or after October 29, 2026 are listed. Confirm dates, halls and the general contractor with each organizer. More notes on other recurring shows are in the Javits, Westchester (White Plains) guides.
Busy seasons
Counting the dated shows above by the month they open, November 2026 is the busiest month in our listings, with 3 shows starting, ahead of January 2027 with 3. Plan freight and hotel rooms early for those weeks.
Fall is the densest stretch. After New York Comic Con in early October, the Javits runs JA New York Fall for fine jewelry, ISC East for security and public safety, and BDNY for hospitality design within about two weeks. In White Plains the same weeks bring the Westchester Fall Home Show, produced by Jenks Productions with more than 120 exhibitors, and the New York Metro Reptile Expo with over 250 vendor tables. ICFF, the contemporary furniture fair, has also moved to November and is listed for 2027.
January and February belong to the big trade shows. NRF 2027: Retail's Big Show opens the year at the Javits with a planning range of about 40,000 to 45,000 attendees, followed by the New York Boat Show, NY NOW Winter for gift and home wholesale, and Toy Fair New York, which is trade only. September is the month to watch in Midtown: our Hilton guide says the UN General Assembly brings delegations and security changes to freight windows and access, so it advises a day of margin.
Spring mixes consumer and trade. The New York International Auto Show fills the Javits from late March into April, drawing about a million visitors. Westchester runs its Spring Home Show and the one-day Wedding & Bridal Expo in March, and Undiscovered Realm Comic Con comes in June. Our v1 guides list the Outsider Art Fair at Metropolitan Pavilion in late February or early March, East Coast Comicon at the Meadowlands in spring and AnimeNEXT in Edison each summer. Vision Expo has said it returns to the Javits in 2028.
Planning guide
In Manhattan, booth labor runs through the show contractor with Teamsters and carpenters, while several suburban halls let your own staff set up within the show kit's limits. The sections below pull together what our 9 New York City venue guides say about labor, freight, move-in, travel and hotels, venue by venue, with a link to the guide each fact comes from.
Labor & union rules
Neither New York nor New Jersey has a right-to-work law, but the rules your team actually works under change a lot between buildings. The Javits has the tightest limit: full-time staff may self-install only a tool-free, ladder-free booth of 250 sq ft or less, and three trades split everything else. The Midtown hotels are union and route exhibit work through the show contractor, usually allowing tabletop only. In the suburbs it loosens. Recent Jenks kits in White Plains allow your own personnel, and our Nassau guide says most shows there do too.
Who builds: Teamsters move all freight and run every forklift, carpenters build booths over 250 sq ft or anything needing tools, and electricians handle power, lit signs, LED walls and rigging. Electrical, internet, plumbing and rigging are Javits exclusives.
Your own staff: Full-time employees may install a tool-free, ladder-free pop-up and lay carpet in a booth of 250 sq ft or less. Exhibitors may not use ladders at any booth size.
Who builds: A union hotel. Exhibit installation runs through the show's contractor with carpenters and Teamsters. Electrical, rigging, internet, audiovisual and catering are exclusive to the hotel or its designated providers.
Your own staff: The show sets any self-install allowance. Our guide says to assume tabletop only unless the kit says otherwise.
Who builds: Exhibit labor in Americas Hall and the ballrooms runs through the show contractor with carpenters and Teamsters. Electrical, rigging, internet, AV and catering go through the hotel or its providers, and on-site orders carry hotel pricing.
Your own staff: Self-install is limited to what the show kit allows, which our guide says is usually tabletop displays and pop-ups.
Who builds: Carpenters and Teamsters work through the show contractor, as in the other Midtown hotels. Electrical, rigging, internet, audiovisual and catering run through the hotel or its providers.
Your own staff: Self-install as the show kit allows, usually tabletop according to our guide.
Who builds: A private venue where labor follows each fair's contractor. Most fairs provide hard-wall stands that the contractor builds, and lighting must be UL-listed and on the fair's circuits.
Your own staff: Many fairs let exhibitors install their own graphics, lighting, furniture and product inside the contractor-built stand. The fair's kit sets the exact allowance.
Who builds: The County Center publishes no exhibitor work rules. At Jenks Productions shows the decorator is Demers Exposition Services of East Hartford, Connecticut, for drape, rentals, material handling and display labor. We could not confirm whether that labor is union.
Your own staff: The 2025–2026 Jenks kits let exhibitors set up and take down displays with their own personnel and dollies, with no booth-size cap. Other producers set their own rules.
Who builds: County-owned and privately operated. Exhibit labor follows the show contractor. Rigging from the arena grid and stage work go through the house crew via the operator; our guide says to confirm current jurisdiction with the show.
Your own staff: Our guide says most consumer and business shows let exhibitors set up their own booths within show limits. The show kit sets the exact allowance.
Who builds: New Jersey has no right-to-work law, and exhibit labor runs through the show's contractor. Electrical, internet, cleaning and security go through the venue or its providers.
Your own staff: Self-install allowances are set by each show's kit. Our guide gives no general rule, so read the kit before you staff the build.
Who builds: Exhibit labor in Edison runs through the show's contractor, with electrical, internet, cleaning and security through the venue or its providers.
Your own staff: Self-install allowances follow the show kit. Our guide does not state a general rule for this hall.
Your show's general contractor and its exhibitor kit set the final rules for your booth; these notes come from the venue guides and the venues' own rules.
Free tool · plan your New York City budget
Drayage is where Manhattan and the suburbs part ways. The figures on this page are Purple planning rates, not published tariffs, and your show kit always has the real one. We plan the Javits at about $195 per hundredweight with a 200 lb minimum per shipment, and the three Midtown hotels at about $185, because the same contractor labor handles freight. Outside the city, the plans drop to between $95 and $110. The only tariff our guides found is the Fall 2025 Westchester home show kit, at $89 per cwt.
| Venue | Planning rate | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Javits CenterUnion · 250 sq ft rule | ≈ $195/cwt | Planned at about $195/cwt with a 200 lb minimum; late, off-target, uncrated or special-handling freight adds 25 to 35 percent. |
| New York Hilton MidtownUnion · show contractor | ≈ $185/cwt | Billed by weight through the show contractor; plan about $185/cwt, with direct-to-hotel freight only in scheduled windows. |
| New York Marriott MarquisUnion · show contractor | ≈ $185/cwt | The show contractor bills material handling, not the hotel. Our plan is about $185/cwt; consolidate to one shipment. |
| Sheraton New York Times SquareUnion · show contractor | ≈ $185/cwt | Contractor rates planned at about $185/cwt. Label freight with the hotel's current name and 811 Seventh Avenue address. |
| Metropolitan PavilionFollows each fair's contractor | ≈ $150/cwt | Fairs often price handling per piece or per hour; where a contractor bills by weight, treat about $150/cwt as a ceiling. |
| Meadowlands Exposition CenterUnion · show contractor | ≈ $110/cwt | Planned at about $110/cwt where a contractor handles freight, well under the Javits planning rate. |
| NJ Convention & Exposition CenterUnion · show contractor | ≈ $105/cwt | About $105/cwt where a contractor handles freight. Docks open onto the floor, so there is no elevator handling. |
| Nassau ColiseumSelf-setup at most shows · check kit | ≈ $95/cwt | About $95/cwt where a contractor handles freight, and many shows allow self-unloading at the dock in scheduled slots. |
| Westchester County CenterSelf-setup OK · check kit | ≈ $95/cwt | Fall 2025 Demers tariff was $89/cwt with a 2 cwt minimum; we plan $95. Weekend overtime adds 25% per occurrence. |
The fields below fill in from size and type. Change any of them.
Purple planning estimate · not a quote
Drayage + I&D labor, Javits Center
Get a real New York City quote Javits Center guide
All drayage numbers are Purple planning estimates per hundredweight (100 lbs), not quotes or published tariffs. The general contractor for your show publishes the actual material-handling rates in the exhibitor kit. See all venues on the drayage rates page.
Freight
Most New York shows give you two routes: the official contractor's advance warehouse by its deadline, or direct to the building inside a targeted window. Manhattan is unforgiving about the second, because trucks cannot wait on the street. The Javits holds them in its own garage, and the Midtown hotels take them only at scheduled side-street dock times. Your show kit names the warehouse, the deadline and the window.
From our Javits Center guide
From our New York Hilton Midtown, Sheraton New York Times Square and New York Marriott Marquis guides
From our New York Marriott Marquis, New York Hilton Midtown, Sheraton New York Times Square and Metropolitan Pavilion guides
From our Westchester County Center guide
From our Metropolitan Pavilion guide
From our Meadowlands Exposition Center, NJ Convention & Exposition Center and Nassau Coliseum guides
Move-in & move-out
How freight gets onto the floor varies more here than in any other city we cover. The Javits keeps its truck queue indoors. The Midtown hotels load from side streets into freight elevators. Chelsea unloads at the curb. The suburban halls have docks and surface lots, though trucks bound for Long Island must stay off the parkways.
Carriers check in at the garage built in the 2021 expansion, which holds more than 200 tractor-trailers, and wait for a dock call. About 50 original docks on two levels plus 27 added ones serve the halls. Personal vehicles get 45 minutes on the Inner Roadway for hand-carry.
From our Javits Center guide
Trucks reach the Marquis only from the side streets in scheduled windows, because Broadway is a pedestrian plaza. Freight then rides elevators to the ballroom floors. Our guide says installs often happen overnight, and New Year's Eve and event weeks close the streets entirely.
From our New York Marriott Marquis guide
The exhibit halls sit below street level with their own freight route from the side-street docks. Sixth Avenue takes no deliveries. Rockefeller Center events, the Thanksgiving parade route and Christmas tree season close nearby streets.
From our New York Hilton Midtown guide
Freight comes in from the side streets in windows scheduled with the hotel, then by freight elevator to the ballroom levels. Seventh Avenue takes no deliveries, and the UN General Assembly in September changes the plan.
From our Sheraton New York Times Square guide
There is no loading dock. Liftgate trucks unload at the curb in short permitted windows shared with every exhibitor. Our guide says there is nowhere to wait and nothing over 26 ft fits the block comfortably.
From our Metropolitan Pavilion guide
All move-in comes through a door 10 ft wide, listed at 15 ft high in the home show kits and 13 ft in the bridal kit, so plan for 13. No move-in through the Central Avenue front entrance and no mechanical handling equipment. Bring hand trucks.
From our Westchester County Center guide
Docks sit on the arena's event level and at the Expo Center, with marshaling in the surface lots. Trucks are banned from the Meadowbrook and other parkways, so route by the Long Island Expressway to Hempstead Turnpike.
From our Nassau Coliseum guide
The hall has its own entrance and dock inside the Harmon Meadow complex. Trucks from Manhattan use the Lincoln Tunnel, and Route 3 and the New Jersey Turnpike serve the rest of the region. Avoid tunnel rush hour.
From our Meadowlands Exposition Center guide
Docks, exhibit floor and meeting rooms are all on one level, with no freight elevators, stairs or marshaling facility. Route 1 runs past the venue and Turnpike exit 10 is a few minutes away.
From our NJ Convention & Exposition Center guide
Getting there
Three major airports serve the city, and none is close to the Javits. Inside Manhattan the subway usually beats a cab at move-in. The 7 train links Times Square to Hudson Yards in one stop. The suburban halls are rail-served too: Metro-North to White Plains, the LIRR toward Hempstead, and NJ Transit to Secaucus Junction and Metropark.
| Venue | Airport | Transit, shuttles and parking |
|---|---|---|
| Javits CenterNew York | EWR / LGA / JFK · 45–70 min | The 7 train stops a block away at 34 St–Hudson Yards. Penn Station and Moynihan are a fifteen-minute walk. JFK by AirTrain and LIRR is the most predictable at about 55 minutes. |
| New York Marriott MarquisNew York | LGA · about 40 min by car | Times Square–42nd Street station is under the hotel, on the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W and S. The 7 reaches the Javits in one stop. |
| New York Hilton MidtownNew York | LGA · about 35 min off-peak | 47–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center (B, D, F, M) is two blocks away. The 7th Avenue and 5th Avenue–53rd Street stations are one block, and Grand Central is a fifteen-minute walk. |
| Sheraton New York Times SquareNew York | LGA · about 35 min off-peak | 50th Street on the 1 is on the corner, with 7th Avenue and 49th Street stations a block away. The Hilton Midtown is a two-minute walk across Seventh Avenue. |
| Metropolitan PavilionNew York | LGA · about 35 min by car | 18th Street on the 1 is a block west. 14th Street (F, M, 1, 2, 3) and the L at Sixth Avenue are two blocks south. |
| Westchester County CenterWhite Plains | HPN · about 5 mi | Metro-North's Harlem Line from Grand Central takes about 35 to 45 minutes off-peak, then a short walk through a tunnel to the lot. Bee-Line buses stop at the White Plains Transportation Center. |
| Nassau ColiseumUniondale | JFK · about 30 min | LIRR to Hempstead, then the N70, N71 or N72 bus, about an hour from Penn Station. By car, about 60 minutes from Midtown off-peak. |
| Meadowlands Exposition CenterSecaucus, NJ | EWR · about 20 min | NJ Transit to Secaucus Junction, then a short walk or shuttle to Harmon Meadow. By car the Lincoln Tunnel from Manhattan is about 20 minutes off-peak. |
| NJ Convention & Exposition CenterEdison, NJ | EWR · about 30 min | NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor Line stops at Metropark and New Brunswick, then a cab or rideshare. Route 1 and Turnpike exit 10 are close by. |
Drive times are the guides' figures and change with traffic; the area map above shows where each venue sits.
Where to stay
No hotel is attached to the Javits, so most exhibitors stay in Hudson Yards, the west 30s or Times Square, one stop away on the 7 train. In Midtown the hotel is often the venue: the Marquis, Hilton and Sheraton carry conference blocks in their own rooms, and the Hilton and Sheraton, across Seventh Avenue from each other, often share one meeting. Outside the city, the Meadowlands and Nassau Coliseum have hotels you can walk to.
Our Javits guide calls it the closest full-service hotel to the building, with Hudson Yards around it for client dinners.
From our Javits Center guide
These carry show blocks and crew rooms. Book at registration, because NRF and Comic Con weeks sell out.
From our Javits Center guide
1,971 rooms in two 36-story wings on Times Square, where the conference block usually sits inside the hotel's own contract. The 7 train runs from beneath it to Hudson Yards.
From our New York Marriott Marquis and Javits Center guides
1,980 rooms, the most in New York City according to our guide, at Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street. Headquarters for many associations that also exhibit at the Javits.
From our New York Hilton Midtown and Javits Center guides
1,780 rooms at 811 Seventh Avenue. Not connected to the Hilton, but a two-minute walk, and the usual second block for large Hilton conferences.
From our Sheraton New York Times Square and New York Hilton Midtown guides
Our Midtown hotel guides suggest these near Carnegie Hall for crew rooms and client suites at Hilton and Sheraton shows.
From our New York Hilton Midtown and Sheraton New York Times Square guides
The Chelsea landmark, reopened as a hotel. Crew rooms are on West 24th to 30th, about eight minutes away.
From our Metropolitan Pavilion guide
At 5 Barker Avenue downtown, with suites and kitchens that suit crews staying the whole show. Opus Westchester and Cambria Downtown are 0.7 to 0.8 miles out.
From our Westchester County Center guide
Host hotel for the Jenks home and bridal shows, which had a $219 group rate for the spring 2026 home show. Check your show kit for the current rate and deadline.
From our Westchester County Center guide
The campus hotel at Nassau Coliseum. You walk to the show. The Garden City Hotel, about 10 minutes away, is near the LIRR at Garden City.
From our Nassau Coliseum guide
About 1,200 rooms inside the same Secaucus complex as the exhibit hall, with restaurants and shops around them.
From our Meadowlands Exposition Center guide
Our Edison guide names these as the standard block for NJCEC shows. Metropark hotels, about 15 minutes away, give rail access to Manhattan and Newark.
From our NJ Convention & Exposition Center guide
Room counts, links and walking times are the venue guides' figures; ask the hotel or your show's housing bureau about room blocks.
In pictures
Photos from our New York City venue guides. Each one opens the guide it comes from, with the full-size photo and its story.
Choosing a venue
Short answers drawn from our venue guides. Your show's organizer picks the venue; these help you plan the booth for it.
The Javits Center has about 500,000 contiguous sq ft on Level 3 since the 2021 expansion, and a four-level truck garage that takes more than 200 trucks off the street. It is also the strictest floor on this page: your own staff may set up only a tool-free, ladder-free booth of 250 sq ft or less, and drayage is planned at about $195 per hundredweight. The 7 train stops a block away at 34 St–Hudson Yards.
The New York Hilton Midtown has real exhibit halls, Americas Hall I (about 24,700 sq ft, column-free) and II (about 16,000 sq ft), with docks on West 53rd and 54th Streets. Across Seventh Avenue, the Sheraton's pillarless 13,768 sq ft Metropolitan Ballroom takes 60 to 100 booths in clean rows under a 21 ft ceiling. The Marriott Marquis's Broadway Ballroom, close to 30,000 sq ft, holds up to 175 booths, but every crate rides a freight elevator from the West 45th and 46th Street dock, so build to the car.
New York Hilton Midtown guideSheraton New York Times Square guideNew York Marriott Marquis guide
Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea has 45,000 sq ft across four loft floors, with columns and 12 to 16 ft ceilings on the main floor. There is no loading dock: trucks unload at the curb on West 18th or 19th Street in permitted windows, so use a liftgate truck and design every piece for two people to carry. Most fairs there provide hard-wall stands; you bring the graphics, lighting and product.
Our guides plan drayage outside Manhattan well below the Javits rate. The Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus is a 61,000 sq ft column-free hall six miles from Midtown, with 6,000 parking spaces, at about $110 per hundredweight. The NJ Convention & Exposition Center in Edison has 135,500 sq ft on one level, with docks opening straight onto the floor and no elevators, at about $105. Nassau Coliseum on Long Island pairs a 60,000 sq ft Expo Center with a 44,000 sq ft arena floor, at about $95, and many of its shows allow self-unloading.
Meadowlands Exposition Center guideNJ Convention & Exposition Center guideNassau Coliseum guide
The Westchester County Center in White Plains is a 1930 Art Deco arena whose Main Hall is 26,720 sq ft under a 42 ft ceiling, but the ceiling is not your limit: recent Jenks Productions kits cap displays at 8 ft, and every crate comes in through one 10 ft wide door off Tarrytown Road. Those kits let your own staff set up, and Metro-North's White Plains station is a short walk.
Neither New York nor New Jersey has a right-to-work law. In the Manhattan hotels our guides say exhibit labor runs through the show contractor with carpenters and Teamsters, and self-install is usually tabletop only; at the Javits the 250 sq ft rule applies. Our Nassau Coliseum guide says most consumer and business shows let exhibitors set up their own booths within the show's limits, and the Westchester County Center's Jenks Productions kits allow it too. Trucks can't use New York's parkways, so route freight to Nassau by the Long Island Expressway.
Javits Center guideNew York Hilton Midtown guideNassau Coliseum guideWestchester County Center guide
FAQ
Answers from our New York City venue guides. Each answer links the guide it comes from.
Our guides cover nine. In Manhattan: the Javits Center, the exhibit halls and ballrooms of the New York Marriott Marquis, New York Hilton Midtown and Sheraton New York Times Square, and Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea. Around the city: the Westchester County Center in White Plains, Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus and the NJ Convention & Exposition Center in Edison.
From our Javits Center, New York Marriott Marquis, New York Hilton Midtown, Sheraton New York Times Square, Metropolitan Pavilion, Westchester County Center, Nassau Coliseum, Meadowlands Exposition Center and NJ Convention & Exposition Center guides
The Javits Center, by a wide margin. After the 2021 expansion it totals about 3.3 million sq ft of event space, with 10 exhibit halls, about 500,000 sq ft of contiguous space on Level 3, a 54,000 sq ft special event space and 106 meeting rooms. The next largest hall in our New York-area guides is the NJ Convention & Exposition Center in Edison, at 135,500 sq ft on one level.
From our Javits Center and NJ Convention & Exposition Center guides
Neither New York nor New Jersey has a right-to-work law. At the Javits, Teamsters handle freight, carpenters build booths and electricians handle power, lit signs and rigging. The Midtown hotels run exhibit labor through the show contractor with carpenters and Teamsters. The rules loosen outside Manhattan: Jenks shows in White Plains allow your own personnel, and our Nassau guide says most shows there do too.
From our Javits Center, New York Hilton Midtown, Westchester County Center and Nassau Coliseum guides
It depends on the building. At the Javits, only full-time employees may self-install, and only a tool-free, ladder-free booth of 250 sq ft or less. A 10x20 qualifies, a 20x20 does not. The Midtown hotels usually allow tabletop only. At Metropolitan Pavilion many fairs let you dress a contractor-built stand. The 2025–2026 Jenks kits at the Westchester County Center allow your own crew at any booth size.
From our Javits Center, New York Marriott Marquis, Metropolitan Pavilion and Westchester County Center guides
Our planning rates, which are not published tariffs, run from about $195 per hundredweight at the Javits, with a 200 lb minimum per shipment, and about $185 at the Midtown hotels, down to $110 at the Meadowlands, $105 in Edison and $95 at Nassau and Westchester. The Fall 2025 Westchester home show kit charged $89 per cwt. Your show kit has the actual tariff.
From our Javits Center, New York Hilton Midtown, Meadowlands Exposition Center, NJ Convention & Exposition Center, Nassau Coliseum and Westchester County Center guides
For Manhattan, the advance warehouse is usually the safer route. Javits direct shipments must arrive in a targeted window, and off-target trucks wait in the garage and pay a surcharge. Midtown hotels accept direct freight only in a scheduled side-street dock window, and our hotel guides say the standard route is the contractor's New Jersey warehouse. For Jenks shows in White Plains, the advance warehouse is in East Hartford, Connecticut.
From our Javits Center, New York Hilton Midtown, Sheraton New York Times Square and Westchester County Center guides
Fall brings JA New York Fall, ISC East and BDNY to the Javits, and the Westchester Fall Home Show to White Plains. Winter is the heaviest Javits stretch, with NRF 2027: Retail's Big Show and the New York Boat Show in January, then NY NOW Winter and Toy Fair New York into February. The New York International Auto Show runs from late March into April, and ICFF is listed for November 2027.
From our Javits Center and Westchester County Center guides
No hotel is attached to the Javits. Our guide puts the Equinox Hotel at Hudson Yards about eight minutes' walk away, with West 30s hotels such as Yotel, Moxy and Hampton about ten. Times Square hotels, including the 1,971-room Marriott Marquis, are one stop on the 7 train. For Midtown conferences, the Hilton Midtown and Sheraton across Seventh Avenue usually hold the room blocks themselves.
From our Javits Center, New York Marriott Marquis, New York Hilton Midtown and Sheraton New York Times Square guides
For the Javits, our guide says Newark is often fastest by car to the far west side, JFK by AirTrain and LIRR to Penn Station is the most predictable at about 55 minutes, and LaGuardia has no rail link. For Midtown hotels, LaGuardia is about 35 to 40 minutes by car off-peak. For White Plains, Westchester County Airport (HPN) is about five miles away. Newark is about 20 minutes from Secaucus.
From our Javits Center, New York Hilton Midtown, Westchester County Center and Meadowlands Exposition Center guides
The Hilton Midtown has real exhibit halls: Americas Hall I at about 24,700 sq ft and Americas Hall II at about 16,000. The Sheraton's pillarless 13,768 sq ft Metropolitan Ballroom takes 60 to 100 booths under a 21 ft ceiling. The Marquis's Broadway Ballroom, close to 30,000 sq ft, holds up to 175 booths at full tabletop layout. For art and design fairs, Metropolitan Pavilion's Level 1 is about 25,000 sq ft.
From our New York Hilton Midtown, Sheraton New York Times Square, New York Marriott Marquis and Metropolitan Pavilion guides
In Manhattan, trucks never wait on the avenues. The Javits stages them in its garage, the hotels load only from side-street docks, and Metropolitan Pavilion unloads at the curb in short permitted windows. Outside the city you can drive and park: Harmon Meadow has 6,000 spaces, and the White Plains county lots charge $10 a day and close at midnight. Trucks are banned from New York parkways, so reach Nassau by the Long Island Expressway.
From our Javits Center, New York Marriott Marquis, Metropolitan Pavilion, Meadowlands Exposition Center, Westchester County Center and Nassau Coliseum guides
Often lower than the room suggests. The Westchester Main Hall has a 42 ft ceiling, but the Jenks kits cap displays at 8 ft, and the Exhibit Hall there is 10.8 ft. Our Marquis guide says to keep structures under 12 ft in the Westside Ballroom, and our Hilton guide advises designing under 12 ft in Americas Hall. At the Javits, clear heights vary by hall, so check the plan before designing tall.
From our Westchester County Center, New York Marriott Marquis, New York Hilton Midtown and Javits Center guides
Exhibiting in New York City?
Purple ships and installs from New York and coordinates crews and freight for New York City shows, from the Javits and the Midtown hotels to White Plains, Long Island and New Jersey. Send us your show, hall and booth number, and we will plan around that building's rules.
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Written by the Purple Exhibits team from our New York City venue guides: Javits Center, New York Marriott Marquis, New York Hilton Midtown, Sheraton New York Times Square, Metropolitan Pavilion, Westchester County Center, Nassau Coliseum, Meadowlands Exposition Center, NJ Convention & Exposition Center. Each guide lists its own sources (venue rules, exhibitor kits, organizer sites). Drayage figures are Purple planning rates. Reviewed for the 2026–2027 season.
