Comptroller Lander, Congresswoman Meng, Assemblymember Rozic, Council Members Lee & Ung Call on Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice to Cancel Contract for Fresh Meadows Wyndham Hotel

New York, NY—In a review of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ)’s contract with Housing Works that includes the Wyndham Garden Fresh Meadows hotel, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander uncovered nepotism and graft that led to million dollar increases and enriched the hotel owner, Weihong Hu.

Hu was indicted earlier this year in a kickback scheme involving City contracts with allegations that included bribing the CEO of Exodus Transitional Community, which originally held the Housing Works contract intended to house people transitioning off Rikers Island. Hu fundraised for Mayor Eric Adams.

The contract is set to expire on June 30, 2025. If MOCJ were to renew the contract through June 30, 2028, an indicted individual, affiliated entities, and related individuals could reap nearly $20 million more in City funds.

Comptroller Lander, Assemblymember Rozic, and Councilmember Lee strongly urge MOCJ to cancel the contract, rather than renew it, given the public corruption associated with it. Renewal would be subject to review—approval or rejection—by the Comptroller’s office.

Fresh Meadows Wyndham Lease Increase
The Comptroller’s office’s review revealed that Housing Works was required to pay Hu’s hotel a minimum monthly fee of $542,177.07, more than double the amount for another comparable hotel site for $241,873.33. In addition to having a higher monthly fee than the other hotels, the monthly fee for Hu’s Fresh Meadows hotel increased from $521,946.67 to $542,177.08, a $20,230.41 increase effective January 1, 2024; as a result, for the 18-month period starting January 1, 2024 until the end of the Agreement on June 30, 2025, Hu is set to receive an additional $364,147.38. If the City were to extend the contract until June 30, 2028, Hu stands to gain an additional $19,518,375 in City funds from the increase in monthly rate.

Subvendor Nepotism
Under the agreement, services at the hotels, including the Wyndham Hotel, must include food. Information filed with the Comptroller’s office indicate that at least one of the food subvendors was Meiqiao LLC, a catering business operating out of the same address as the Wyndham Hotel. According to public records and vendor disclosure forms, Meiqiao’s CEO is Lan Mei, a relative of Hu and a named individual who reimbursed donors to Eric Adams in violation of campaign finance law.

Improper Contract Increase
The Comptroller’s office found that MOCJ self-registered two increases to the contract amount, cumulatively valued at $9,118,440, in possible violation of the City’s procurement rules and the City Charter. MOCJ registered the first increase of $6,078,960 in February 2024 and the second increase of $3,039,480 in January 2025.

“Hotel owner Weihong Hu stands to gain millions of dollars through a shady contract with outlandish lease payments and nepotistic double-dealings with the food caterer,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “Ripping off funds meant to provide housing to people transitioning off Rikers is obscene. My office joins local elected officials, who rang the alarm on this, in calling on the Mayor’s Office to immediately halt its plans to renew this contract because doling out $20 million to an individual indicted for fraud against the City is an abuse of taxpayer dollars.”

“With continued ethical and safety concerns, the City’s contract with the Wyndham Garden Hotel has proven to be a failure. With new revelations about its ties to an indicted associate of the Mayor, it’s clear that this agreement cannot be allowed to continue. As I have said from the start, taxpayer dollars should not be funneled into a contract mired with corruption and mismanagement,” said Assemblywoman Nily Rozic. “My office has long partnered with local elected officials and community leaders to advocate for greater oversight and accountability, and we will continue pushing to ensure this contract ends.”

“The Wyndham Hotel has a history of problems,” said U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens). “These include troubles with safety, transparency and oversight, issues that have long been unacceptable. I have called for the hotel’s contract to be terminated, and I join my government colleagues in renewing this demand, especially with continuing concerns and new revelations. It is time to act.”

“Our offices have long echoed the community’s frustrations with this Administration’s mismanagement and lack of transparency regarding the Wyndham Hotel,” said Council Member Linda Lee. “Given the ongoing public safety concerns and the recent discovery of troubling, unethical financial ties between the Administration and the hotel’s owner, it is unacceptable for the City to renew this contract, further undermining the integrity of the procurement process. In these uncertain times, the Wyndham Hotel’s contract must be terminated immediately to help restore the community’s trust in our city’s government.”

“Not only has this hotel raised issues in the community for years, the decision to allow it to operate as a shelter raised a number of red flags related to transparency and good governance. Residents were forced to suffer the quality-of-life issues this hotel created at the same time the operator was profiting from their hard-earned tax dollars,” said Council Member Sandra Ung. “I hope this report from the Comptroller’s Office is just a first step in bringing a resolution to this longstanding issue.”

Previously in March 2022, Comptroller Lander denied the Exodus Transitional Community contract, which included services provided at this site due to an unlicensed security subcontractor. In December 1, 2022, as a result of five separate investigations into Exodus’ CEO Julio Medina, MOCJ transitioned services being provided under that contract to other vendors including HousingWorks and directed that HousingWorks continue to provide the services at the same locations through leases with the four hotel sites including the Wydham Garden Fresh Meadows.

Read the full letter: https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/letter-to-the-mayors-office-of-criminal-justice-re-housing-works-inc-contract-for-justice-involved-emergency-short-term-and-transitional-housing/

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