Trump Tower Barricades Return As Ex-President Trump Visits NYC

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Just weeks after they were dismantled, police barricades went up around Trump Tower once again this week as former President Donald Trump made a rare trip back to his hometown.

Trump was reportedly spotted in an SUV outside his Fifth Avenue tower Sunday night and will remain here through Tuesday, the Daily News reported, although the reasons for his visit remain unknown.

In the run-up to Trump's arrival, ABC reported that some of the barricades that were taken down in mid-February would be put back in place during his stay. Indeed, traffic cameras on Monday showed a long line of metal barricades stretching down the block on Fifth Avenue.

An NYPD spokesperson declined to comment on how severe the restrictions would be or when the barricades would be taken back down.

Starting before the 2016 election, the area surrounding Trump Tower was converted into a quasi-militarized zone by the NYPD and Secret Service, who cordoned off swaths of Fifth Avenue and 56th Street amid safety concerns.

The closures were maintained constantly even though Trump spent little time in New York during his presidency, and moved his primary residence to Florida in 2019.

Neighborhood leaders said that nearby businesses suffered during the closure, which cost the city more than $150 million, a mayoral spokesperson revealed to Patch. (The city expected to be reimbursed for the costs.)

Ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration, the NYPD said the barricades around Trump Tower would come down within weeks — a process that indeed began on Feb. 11.

Rob Byrnes, president of the East Midtown Partnership, suggested in January that the formerly locked-down blocks could be pedestrianized or converted into a shared street once the NYPD left.

Previous coverage:

• Trump Tower Barricades Come Down After 4 Years, $150M
• 'Anarchist Jurisdiction' NYC Paid $150M To Keep Trump Safe