network in the building, as well as a truck idling area to the west and south being proposed for further expansion. The newly expanded Javits Center is served by the New York City Subway at the 34th Street–Hudson Yards station, which was built as part of the 7 Subway Extension in anticipation for the adjoining Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project. The station opened on September 13, 2015. The expanded Javits Center, along with the completed High Line, the new Hudson Park and Boulevard, and the subway extension, are facilitating the development of Hudson Yards. 2016–2021 expansion In January 2016, Governor Cuomo announced that Javits Center would be expanded to at a cost of US$1.5 billion. Javits North, a "semi-permanent structure" at the north end, would be demolished and replaced by a new glass building with "meeting rooms, new exhibition halls and outdoor space". , including about of exhibition space, would be added. The consortium chosen is made up of project manager Lend Lease Group and Turner Construction Company, a subsidiary of Hochtief which is controlled by Spanish company ACS Group. The expansion was intended to make Javits Center a more competitive location for conventions and events compared to other cities' convention centers. There were also no hotels near Javits Center, which led some convention planners to decide against holding their events there. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in March 2017. Initially, the expansion was scheduled to be completed in March 2021. In March 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the Javits Center was adapted for use as a temporary 2,000-bed alternate care site to treat COVID-19 patients, though the number of beds was later expanded to 2,910. The field hospital was ultimately little-used. A total of slightly under 1,100 COVID-19 patients were treated at the Javits Center. The field hospital, administered by FEMA, closed in May 2020 after one surge of New York City cases passed; the few dozen patients remaining were transferred to other hospitals in the city. The facilities were not completely dismantled, in case they were needed for a subsequent wave. In 2021, the Javits Center was used as a COVID-19 mass vaccination site; on three consecutive days in March 2021, the location set a national record for number of vaccinations administered in a single day (reaching up to 14,000 people). The COVID-19 pandemic had started just as the Javits Center expansion was being completed.