The good news comes only a month after fears were expressed that the venues could be out of use, as far as the art and antiques trade was concerned, for the next five years.
“We are once again accepting applications for non-military use of our armories, including our facilities on Park and Lexington avenues (the 7th Regiment and 69th Regiment Armories as they are commonly referred to),” Mr Sandman confirmed last week.
“Each application will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the heightened security measures in place after the September 11 attacks.”
The first antiques event at the Seventh Regiment Armory will be Wendy Management’s show from February 6-10.
“We are delighted for the city that this premier show location has been reopened,” said Diane Wendy. “The events bring hundreds of exhibitors to NYC and thousands of tourists. Our September show was the first to be cancelled due to 9-11 and now we are the first to return.”
The London-based Haughtons, whose autumn event – cancelled after the terrorist attacks – is the leading antiques fair in the New York calendar, have also announced a comeback at the Seventh Regiment Armory. They plan to hold their international fine art fair there from May 10-15 and their flagship International antiques fair from October 18-24.
New York armories re-open for business
First antiques event set for early February: Scott Sandman, media relations chief at the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, has confirmed that New York City’s armories are once again open for business.
