Donald Trump’s neighbours are now having to live with stepped up security around the billionaire US-President-elect’s home in New York. Security has been beefed up in the area in and around Trump Tower, the 58-storey building where Trump lives with his family in gold decked penthouse.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, extreme security measures — that include swarms of police officers, barricades, checkpoints and street closures — began going up around the landmark Fifth Avenue skyscraper on election day.
According to the report, what lies ahead will depend on on how Trump decides to divide his time between Washington and New York and on an assessment of the vulnerabilities of Trump Tower.
However, the report points out, the heightened security is already a concern for some high-end retailers in one of the city’s busiest shopping districts, especially with the holiday season ramping up; with police officers manning metal barricades asking visitors and shoppers where they were going before they could get onto the block.
“In the weeks leading up to the election, visitors at Trump Tower were subjected to bag checks and other screening but otherwise had free access to a five-story atrium that has shops and restaurants, including Trump Grill and a Starbucks. Under a zoning deal Trump made with the city in the late 1970s, he is required to keep the atrium open to the public between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.,” writes The Hollywood Reporter.
And after Trump’s win, 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,” the report goes on.
According to the Daily Mail, the flight ban will re-route many helicopter tours of the city, limit the work of media helicopters as well as re-routing commercial aircraft. Drones are also banned
“People who work and live inside Trump Tower will also now be vetted by the Secret Service, the New York Daily News reports. And elevator routes will also be altered to stop people accessing Trump’s personal floors,” reports the Daily Mail.
The glass building is one of New York’s most visited attractions since its completion in 1983.
But according to the report, If Hillary Clinton had won the election, these additional security measures would not have been needed as her Chappaqua home is already deemed safe from when it acted as a presidential home for husband Bill.
“Trump first received a Secret Service detail after requesting one in November 2015, while Clinton already had protection because of her status as a former first lady.”
According to the Daily Mail report, when Trump and his family move into The White House in January, his osn, ten-year-old Barron Trump will be the youngest presidential son to reside in the executive mansion since John F. Kennedy, Jr.
The White House has been home to only presidential daughters since JFK, Jr, whose father was assassinated just before his third birthday in 1963.
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