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Dear New Yorkers,

Hotel operator Weihong Hu has thrown three fundraisers for Eric Adams’ mayoral campaigns, around which she’s bundled tens of thousands of dollars in donation checks. She’s also enlisted two of the mayor’s close associates to work with her — and let another reside at her Fresh Meadows hotel, which happens to serve as a city shelter.

While Adams has been in office, Hu has also scored behind-the-scenes benefits and millions in contract dollars from his administration, an investigation by THE CITY, The Guardian US, and Documented reveals.

The details of how this relationship blossomed in the odd setting of a hotel-turned-shelter offer a rare window into the way transactional governing has taken shape in the Adams era.

Integral to it is a tightly knit core of the mayor’s longtime confidants, some of whom have been embroiled in law enforcement investigations and ethical controversies. Read more about the tangled web here.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Thursday's Weather Rating: 6/10. High temperatures in the mid 80s with rising humidity and a chance of showers and storms throughout the day. Not a washout by any stretch, but the vibes are a bit more unsettled out there today!

Our Other Top Stories

The NYPD has dropped numerous criminal summonses against people arrested across several college campuses during pro-Palestinian demonstrations last month. It’s unclear exactly how many summonses were cleared from the books over the past several weeks, though it’s likely in the hundreds. But dozens of people still face more serious criminal charges for arrests inside occupied buildings. A police officer originally from China has been fired by the NYPD, reports Documented, after being entangled in a federal investigation of alleged illegal activities of a Chinese foreign agent, according to disciplinary records. Critics say the NYPD is racially biased: this marks the second Chinese American cop in the city to lose their jobs because of foreign-agent related cases since 2008. Both men have not been found guilty of any criminal activity. Their punishment by the NYPD has sent chills through the Chinese community which is already under increasingly close scrutiny due to tense US-China relations.   The millions of people who walk on the 2.7-mile boardwalk that stretches along Coney Island’s shore each year may not know just how much work goes into maintaining the historic esplanade. Meet the unsung heroes saving your feet from splinters this summer — and subscribe to THE CITY’s new seasonal newsletter for more interviews with the New Yorkers who make summer happen each year.

Today is the final day of our spring fundraiser!

THE CITY works every day to make an impact for our readers, from guides that inform New Yorkers about their rights to investigations that hold people in power to account. Today, when you make a contribution of any amount, your donation will be tripled.

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Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Saturday, May 25: NYC beaches open for the season. Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26: “Waves, all that Glows Sees,” a special interactive family performance celebrating the sea. Tickets are $10-17 (Saturday shows begin at 1 and 3 p.m., and the Sunday show at 2:15 p.m.) at Flushing Town Hall in Queens. Monday, May 27: Green-Wood Cemetery’s Memorial Day Concert, featuring the high-school musicians of the ISO Symphonic Band at Third Street, led by music director Paul Corn and hosted by guest conductor Brian P. Worsdale. Free ($10 suggested donation) from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Green-Wood Cemetery.

THE KICKER: Sherpas who once scaled Mount Everest, but now drive Ubers in the city, are acclimating to a new life — while still hoping to climb the world’s highest mountain again, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Thursday.

Love,

THE CITY

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