Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted congressional Republicans after they set aside only $7 million of the $35 million city officials wanted to cover NYPD overtime for protecting President-elect Donald Trump at His Fifth Avenue home.
Washington lawmakers set aside the sum as part of an overall House stopgap spending bill that would prevent a government shutdown this weekend, the New York Post reported.
City officials say it costs about $500,000 a day to provide extra security at Trump Tower [TRDataCustom], which it predicts will end up costing about $35 million by Jan. 20.
“NYC taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for 80% of the national bill to protect Trump Tower. DC must step up to pay us back what we’re owed,” de Blasio wrote on Twitter.
Members of the city’s Democratic congressional delegation Tuesday demanded that Trump move out of Trump Tower once he’s inaugurated, or foot the security bill.
“When a person is elected to the presidency of the United States, you’re supposed to go to the White House,” Brooklyn Representative Nydia Velázquez said Tuesday at a press conference in Washington.
Melania Trump will continue to live at the ritzy tower with the First Family’s 10-year-old son, Barron, until the school year wraps up, at which point they plan to move into the White House.
There are some, however, who see the increased Secret Service presence on Fifth Avenue as a boon, or at least a sales opportunity. A pair of Douglas Elliman brokers with a listing in Trump Tower sent out an unauthorized email touting the increased security presence as an amenity. [NYP] – Rich Bockmann