NEW YORK — Gotta give Gordon Borrell credit. In the face of a horrendous recession in media, he decided to launch a new conference, the Local Online Advertising Conference. And he did it in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. And he pulled it off.

More than 400 people are attending the conference today and tomorrow at the Grand Hyatt, a dysfunctional hotel with a dysfunctional layout for this conference. But he’s got a great lineup of speakers, and a great turnout of people who came in spite of busted budgets.

Jeff Jarvis kicked off the hyperlocal conversation, ahead of a panel featuring Chris Jennewein, Chris Hendricks, Mark Potts and Troy McGuire.

Details of the conference on our blog today and tomorrow as time and connectivity permit. (Ugh: There’s no wi-fi in the conference room.)