President Obama will visit Harlem Tuesday for a fundraiser that’s expected to take in $1.5 million for the Democratic National Committee.
Obama will preside over a $30,800-per-person event for about 50 people at the acclaimed Red Rooster restaurant on Lenox Avenue, reports the Daily News.
It’s his first visit to Harlem since being elected to the White House and his first fund-raising event in Manhattan north of 125th Street.
"It's the first African-American President back in Harlem for the first time since the campaign," Kevin Wardally, a Harlem-based political consultant, told the paper. "It's a powerful symbol."
Local officials told the Daily News that the president was wise to finally host a fundraiser in Harlem.
"It's not like he's a stranger to Harlem -- when he was a student at Columbia, he used to work these streets all the time," said Assemblyman Keith Wright..
"I think it probably costs a lot of money to run for President," said Wright, who had no problem with the event’s cost. "It's good that he's coming."
News
Although this is Obama's first fundraiser in Harlem, he's a veteran of Manhattan’s money circuit. New Yorkers gave his 2008 presidential campaign more than $42 million according to federal campaign finance records.
Six of the top 10 zip codes that gave to Obama were in Manhattan, records show. Harlem residents gave his presidential campaign $785,000.
