By Amy Zimmer
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — President Barack Obama is returning to New York for the fourth time in as many months, heading to Upper East Side and Midtown for fundraisers Thursday.
A $35,800-a-head dinner packed with Wall Streeters will welcome the president at Chef Daniel Boulud's East 65th Street restaurant, Daniel, according to the Daily News.
Though the dinner is aimed at bankers, hedge fund managers and private equity investors, there remain questions as to whether Obama can still curry favor with financial industry execs after calling them "fat cats" and blasting their bonuses.
Obama is also going to hobnob with another group of potential donors that night — members of the LGBT elite.
As New York lawmakers continue to debate legalizing gay marriage, Obama — who signed the law to repeal the ban on openly gay service members — is expected to be the keynote speaker for the annual LGBT Leadership Council's gala at the Sheraton on Seventh Avenue and West 53rd Street. "How I Met Your Mother" star Neil Patrick Harris will host the event.
Tickets to that event range from $1,250 a ticket up to $35,800 — which including a spot on the chair committee and a photo with the president — according to the Obama campaign website.
Just a block west from the Sheraton, Obama will be getting a boost from Whoopi Goldberg.
The Tony-nominated Broadway musical "Sister Act," produced by the comedienne, is taking a night away from its normal run to help raise money for Obama's re-election campaign, Huffington Post reported.
Tickets for the Thursday fundraising performance range from $250 to $10,000 — again with top-priced tickets including a photo op with Obama.
The Obamas have been big Broadway fans during his first term in office, the website points out. They've seen "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," "Memphis" and "The Addams Family."
