President Obama visits New York City for DNC fundraiser and Broadway

The president will not be staying at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel this trip, unlike many presidents before him on visits to New York City.

However, officials pointed to Hilton Worldwide’s sale of the Waldorf-Astoria to China’s Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group for $1.95 billion past year, a deal that prompted security concerns. The air traffic restrictions could create issues for the city’s elite looking to catch a helicopter out to the Hamptons for the weekend, according to the New York Post.

In fact, the Associated Press notes that the agency’s Chinese travel guidelines caution diplomats and business people traveling in the country about the practice of covert communications monitoring and hotel room searches.

Reports say there are fears the Chinese might set up a bugging system.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

China has been blamed for widespread hacking of the US government’s files, stealing data of almost 22 million current and former federal workers.

However, Mr Obama, who is in New York this weekend to attend a Democratic fundraiser on Friday evening and a Broadway show on Saturday with his daughters Malia and Sasha, will be staying at Millennium’s ONE UN New York hotel.