Headquarters of the United Nations The General Assembly met at what had previously been the ice skating rink, and the Long Island Rail Road reopened the former World's Fair station as United Nations station. After the UN moved to its new Manhattan headquarters, the building was remodeled and briefly used as a pavilion for the 1964 New York World's Fair, after which it reverted to use as a skating rink until 2008, when the entire building began a long-term renovation to create expanded museum facilities. Per an agreement with the city, the buildings met some but not all local fire safety and building codes. In
Headquarters of the United Nations the complex opened in 1950, were expected to take about 7 years to complete. When completed the complex is also expected to be more energy efficient and have improved security. A temporary $140 million "North Lawn Building" was built to house the United Nations' "critical operations" while renovations proceeded. Work began on May 5, 2008, but the project was delayed for a while. By 2009 the cost of the work had risen from $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion with some estimates saying it would take up to $3 billion. Officials hoped the renovated buildings would achieve a LEED Silver rating.