WASHINGTON (AP) – It’s official. The U.S. government says it’s abandoning decades of tradition and moving out of New York’s famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, which a Chinese firm bought last year from Hilton Worldwide.
Instead, President Barack Obama, White House staff and the sizable State Department contingent that trek to Manhattan every September for the annual U.N. General Assembly will work and stay at the New York Palace Hotel. The AP first reported the impending move in June but it wasn’t formally announced until Friday, a day after the final contract was signed with the Palace.
Officials say the change is due in large part to concerns about Chinese espionage, although State Department spokesman Mark Toner would say only that it followed a review “to take into account changing circumstances” that included “possible security concerns.”
“The U.S. delegation will lodge at and operate out of the New York Palace Hotel during the U.N. General Assembly high-level week this fall,” Toner said. “We constantly re-evaluate venues to take into account changing circumstances. In making our decision we considered numerous factors, including space, cost, the needs of the United States government and any possible security concerns.”
In addition to the switch for the U.N. meeting, Toner said the department is also considering whether the Waldorf should still serve as the residence of the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations as part of a review of “our security protocols and standard operating procedures to ensure the safety and security of our information and personnel.”