New York is our home market. SET Exhibits builds at 152 Broadway in Haverstraw, roughly an hour north of Manhattan. For a Javits show that means no cross-country freight leg, and it means we can reach the building quickly if something needs attention on the day. That matters here more than most places, because the Javits Center runs one of the strictest labor and freight operations in the country.
850,000
sq ft exhibit space
What Catches Exhibitors Out Here
Javits works to specific numbers. Knowing them precisely saves real money.
250 square feet is the line
Your own employees may set up, dismantle and lay carpet in booths of 250 square feet or less — provided the assembly needs no tools. Above that threshold, union labor. It is the single most useful number to know at Javits.
100 square feet for your own lighting
Booths of 100 square feet or less running a single 500-watt electrical drop may install and dismantle their own lights, without tools and without ladders. It is a narrow allowance and worth knowing precisely rather than approximately.
The strictest hanging sign timeline in the country
Overhead elements need to be settled during the design phase, not raised close to move-in. Javits enforces this harder than any other venue in the United States, and a late submission simply does not get hung.
Manhattan freight costs more
Drayage and electrical both run materially above the national average here. Budget them as a major line rather than an afterthought — taken together with carpet, furniture and labor, they can approach or exceed what you paid for the floor space itself.
The Venue
New York trade shows means Javits — and Javits has been a different building since 2021.
1
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
429 11th Avenue, New York, NY 10001
Our home venue
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Total Event Space
3.3 million sq ft
Exhibit Space
850,000 sq ft across ten halls
Contiguous Floor
500,000 sq ft on Level 3
Truck Marshalling
480,000 sq ft facility holding 229+ trucks
Expansion
$1.5 billion, completed 2021, added 1.2 million sq ft
Known For
New York Auto Show, ICFF, International Beauty Show
The four-level marshalling facility is the single biggest improvement to Javits freight logistics in decades — it took a great deal of truck queuing off Manhattan streets. Dock windows are still tight and marshalling rules are not negotiable.
SEE OUR WORK HERE →FULL VENUE DETAILS →2
Javits — The Expansion Spaces
429 11th Avenue, New York, NY 10001
Since 2021
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Special Event Space
54,000 sq ft — largest in the Northeast
Meeting Space
Over 200,000 sq ft of new meeting and pre-function space
Outdoor
Rooftop pavilion and terrace, nearly 7-acre green roof
Increasingly used for exhibitor receptions and product launches alongside the main floor. Worth considering if your program includes hosted events.
FULL VENUE DETAILS →The Detail
Javits runs a multi-union model with defined self-install limits. Working outside them can mean fines or your booth being taken down on the spot, so the boundaries are worth knowing exactly.
250 sq ft or less — your own employees may set up, dismantle and lay carpet, if assembly needs no tools.
100 sq ft or less with a single 500-watt drop — you may install and dismantle your own lights, without tools or ladders.
Electrical connections, rigging and drayage are union jurisdiction with no exhibitor exception.
Hanging signs run the strictest approval timeline in the country. Submit early.
Your show manual overrides general venue guidance. Always check it.
The 250 and 100 sq ft thresholds are the two numbers most exhibitors get wrong. We plan the labor around them from the design stage.
Freight and the marshalling facility
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The 2021 expansion changed the freight picture here significantly.
The on-site marshalling facility holds a minimum of 229 trucks across four levels and has meaningfully reduced congestion around the building.
27 loading docks, up substantially from before the expansion.
Move-in windows are narrow and strictly enforced.
Our shop is about an hour away, which shortens the freight leg, lowers cost, and gives us room to respond if something needs to come back or go in late.
Booth Sizes for a New York Floor
Every standard footprint, built custom or supplied as a rental. See what each size costs →
10x10
100 sq ft
Back wall, counter, one demo point
The standard starter footprint
Lowest total cost of entry
10x20
200 sq ft
Twice the aisle frontage
Product display plus a meeting corner
Same install window as a 10x10
20x20
400 sq ft
Island, open on four sides
The size where hanging signs become possible
Room for several zones
30x30
900 sq ft
Enclosed meeting rooms
Theater seating and large-format LED
A headline presence on the floor
How Your Booth Gets Built
The same sequence on every project, whether the show is in New York or anywhere else across the 50 states.
1
Week 1
Brief and budget
We start with your show, your space and what you actually need to achieve there. You get a straight answer on what fits.
2
Weeks 1-2
Design in 3D
Layout and graphics built around your placement, sightlines and brand. Revised until it is right.
3
Weeks 3-8
Fabrication in Haverstraw
Built in our own shop in New York. Structure fabricated, graphics printed and mounted, finishes applied, everything checked before it goes anywhere.
4
Before it ships
Pre-build and inspection
The booth goes up in our warehouse before it goes anywhere near a show floor, so install day is a repeat, not a first attempt.
5
Show week
Freight, labor and install
We handle the marshalling yard, the union labor calls, the paperwork and the install. You walk into a finished booth.
6
During the show
On-site support
Someone from our team is reachable while the show runs, not a ticket queue.
7
Final day
Dismantle and return
We pack it properly and handle the return so your team can leave the venue without a checklist.
Major Shows Held in New York
Javits hosts a mix of trade and consumer shows through the year. Requirements differ sharply between trade-only and public-facing events, particularly around staffing and product handling.
New York International Auto ShowInternational Beauty ShowICFFLightFairNew York Comic Con
New York Exhibitor FAQ
Can we set up our own booth at Javits?
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If your booth is 250 sq ft or less and assembly needs no tools, your own employees may set it up and lay carpet. Booths of 100 sq ft or less with a single 500-watt drop may also handle their own lighting. Electrical, rigging and drayage always require credentialed union labor.
Does being in Haverstraw actually help?
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Yes, practically. We are about an hour from the building. That cuts freight distance and cost, and means we can reach the show floor quickly if something needs attention — which is not true for exhibit houses shipping in from across the country.
What should a Javits budget include beyond floor space?
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Drayage, electrical, carpet, furniture, internet, union labor, and any hanging sign or rigging. Together these can equal or exceed the cost of the floor space itself, which surprises first-time Javits exhibitors more than anything else.
How early do hanging signs need approval?
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Earlier than most venues. Javits runs the strictest hanging sign timeline in the country, so overhead elements should be settled during design rather than raised close to move-in.
Related Pages
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