A protective barrier of Sanitation Department trucks are parked in front of Trump Tower on 5th Avenue in New York City.
Secret Service and NYPD are working out the details.
Being a midtown Manhattan neighbor of Donald Trump now that he’s president-elect has come to this: navigating swarms of police officers, barricades, checkpoints and street closings that have turned Trump Tower—a tourist attraction normally open to the public—into a fortress.
The extreme security measures began going up around the landmark Fifth Avenue skyscraper on Election Day, when authorities brought in a fleet of heavy Sanitation Department trucks filled with sand to wall off the front of the glittering, 664-foot glass tower and protect it ...
Those trucks were gone by Friday, replaced by concrete barriers stamped with the NYPD logo. But the stepped-up security—a team effort by the Secret Service, the New York Police Department and Trump’s private security personnel—isn’t going away.
The Secret Service and NYPD wouldn’t detail what lies ahead. That will depend largely on how Trump decides to divide his time between Washington and New York and on an assessment of the vulnerabilities of Trump Tower, where the president-elect lives in a penthouse condo and his Trump Organization is headquartered.
“It’s going to take a lot of planning, and it’s going to take a lot of creativity,” said NYPD Deputy Commissioner Steve Davis.
The cost is uncertain, too, though the city might seek reimbursement from the Homeland Security Department for some of its expenses.
The heightened security has already become a concern for some high-end retailers in one of the city’s busiest shopping districts, especially with the holiday season ramping up.
Police officers manning metal barricades asked visitors and shoppers where they were going before they could get onto the block Friday. People who said they were headed for Trump Tower or the flagship Tiffany & Co. store next door were being let through, but the jewelry shop canceled the unveiling next week of its annual Christmas light display.
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Police also closed off the block south of the high-rise and set up guard towers on either end. And they have gotten stricter about diverting delivery trucks away from tower.
This week, the Federal Aviation Administration barred aircraft from flying below 2,999 feet over Trump Tower, saying the airspace restrictions are needed until late January because of “VIP movement.” An advocacy group for private pilots complained that the FAA went too far by limiting access to the Hudson River corridor and its “breathtaking view of the New York City skyline.”
More permanent safeguards will take into account the effect on businesses and residents, Secret Service spokesman Martin Mulholland said.
“People think we shut stuff down because we can, but we pay close attention to what happens when we close a street or a sidewalk,” he said. “We look for the best solution.”
