The Spitzer Administration announced yesterday that it will hold off selling property north of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center pending a review of expansion options for the center by task force.

Last month, Governor Spitzer announced that the state would sell a block just to the north of the center that had long been considered as a site for expansion of the center and the Bloomberg Administration and many local politicians protested that such a sale would preclude major expansion of the center, which is now only the 16th largest in the country.

Rapidly escalating construction costs had led state officials to significantly reduce expansion plans for the center and instead simply plan a renovation of the existing facility that was designed by James Ingo Freed of I. M. Pei & Partners.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn issued a statement that said that "The suspension of the sale of the property north of the Javits Center is a very big step forward," adding that "The governor deserves a tremendous amount of credit for recognizing that going ahead with the sale without a plan for the future of the convention center would have been unwise."

"New York City needs a 21st Century urban convention center - one that will bring critically important middle class jobs to our city," said Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. "It's very important to move forward with a well thought out plan in place. I am very excited to be a part of the Task Force and gratified that the State has heeded our call to defer the sale of an adjacent parcel until a plan is developed. A new convention center will be an economic engine in our city for decades to come," she said.

"We are committed to renovating the Javits Convention Center and to exploring the possibility of a 21st Century convention center to address the future needs of the City and Region," Governor Spitzer declared in a statement issued by the Empire State Development Corporation at a hearing on the center held yesterday by State Senator John J. Flanagan (2nd Senate District), chairman of the Senate Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions.

In his announcement of the hearing, Senator Flanagan declared that any sale of the two parcels of land that border the current center on the north and south would render any future expansion of the convention center nearly impossible.

Senator Flanagan's committee will also look into the question of where the revenue from the sale would be targeted.

"Since last spring, when the administration was looking at expanding this center, they have put in a considerable amount of time examining the future of this center. Suddenly, they announce they are aiming to sell the land to help fund other projects and I think that the residents of New York deserve to know why Governor Spitzer has so dramatically changed course," stated Senator Flanagan.

The statement by the Empire State Development Corporation announced the creation of a Convention and Trade-Show Industry Task Force to study the long-term travel and tourism needs of the city and region. "The Task Force will help create the framework for the City and State to come together on a long-term solution for the region's important travel and tourism industry," the statement said.

"The Javits Convention Center is our present and we must now focus on the future," said Pat Foye, chairman of the Downtown Empire State Development Corporation.

"We need a comprehensive, strategic plan for New York City's convention and trade-show industries, and I look forward to working with State leaders and other stakeholders to develop one," said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert C. Lieber.

The task force is expected to publish its findings within three to six months.

The state's announced also said "it would proceed with the sale of the Southern Parcel at 33rd/34th Streets."