New Yorkers like Ruben Rodriguez recognize big problems face the next mayor of New York City.

“I wouldn’t want to be the next mayor,” he said over the light din of his restaurant this week. "They are going to inherit a tremendous revenue shortfall. They are going to face a small business community that is still bitter."

What You Need To Know

  • Thousands of New Yorkers have contributed to candidates in this year's hotly-contested mayor's race

  • Eric Adams has largest number of local contributors so far, with Scott Stringer not far behind

  • Maya Wiley is raking in cash from donors who are out of town

Bitter after the last year restaurants in New York City have had. Rodriguez owns the popular Havana Cafe in the Bronx. It’s a restaurant that’s been transformed in the last few months. A large standing thermometer greets patrons now. First thing you do is get your temperature taken.

“We’re actually going to be participants in the process,” he says of his fellow restauranteurs. "We are really going to listen to who the candidate are, their ideas.”

Rodriguez in one of thousands of New Yorkers giving cash to one of the candidates for mayor in this year’s hotly-contested race.

He gave Eric Adams $250.

“I gave to Eric because he’s, given the times, I think it’s very important for us to support our candidates of color,” Rodriguez said.

According to the city's Campaign Finance Board, Adams, Scott Stringer and Maya Wiley have the most contributors from New Yorkers so far. Adams has received cash from 4,994 New Yorkers. Stringer is not far behind with 4,846.

It’s these local contributions up to $250 that are matched generously (eight to one) by the city with public matching funds.

As for the cash total, former Citigroup executive Ray McGuire has raised, by far, the most money from New Yorkers at $3.3 million.

Go beyond the five boroughs and it’s another story.

“I did move up to Buffalo one time right in the dead of winter and I decided that was not for me,” Susanne Abrams told us last week from her home almost 900 miles away.

She lives in Rome, Georgia. Even so, she gave Maya Wiley $10 in October.

"Leaders in big cities have huge voices and huge impacts and they reach beyond their states,” she told us. "I like Maya Wiley, you know, especially her social issues and the fact that she’s an activist and a lawyer and she’s very intelligent. I think she can get things done.“

When you look at who rakes in the largest number of contributors from outside of the city, Wiley was far ahead with 3,353.

Perhaps she drew in a national audience during her time on MSNBC.

These numbers are based on the latest campaign filing with the city’s Campaign Finance Board. That said, Andrew Yang’s campaign this week claimed to have already received campaign contributions from 11,000 people. They could not tell NY1 how many of those people were New Yorkers. We will not know until the next campaign filing next month.

But it's only a local audience that is counted at the ballot box. 

We know, after all, only New Yorkers will be able to head to the polls this June, many with a lot on their mind.