New York City tries handing Washington the bill for guarding Trump

New York City Police officers guard Trump Tower in Manhattan, Nov. 11, 2016. (Photo: Richard Drew/AP)

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is still petitioning the federal government to compensate the Big Apple for protecting President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump, a native of Queens, lives in a luxurious residence atop Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The highly trafficked neighborhood teems with tourists, shoppers and  throughout the day. Since Trump’s election victory, the New York Police Department has had to vastly increase its already intense security for the area.

On Wednesday morning,   office released a statement lamenting that an overwhelming share of the responsibility of protecting the nation’s next president has fallen on one city. He  the U.S. government to reimburse New York.

“New York City taxpayers should not be on the hook for 80 percent of the national bill to protect our president-elect and his family’s residence,” he said. “We are counting on Congress to step up in the coming months to pay back what it owes our city. This is a national responsibility and the burden cannot fall alone on our city and police department.”

Eric Phillips, the mayor’s press secretary, told Yahoo News that Congress is in the process of approving $7 million, which he says is “far from enough.” He said City Hall plans to work with the New York congressional delegation in seeking more money. The city has requested $35 million.

A New York City police officer stands watch outside Trump Tower, December 2016. (Photo: Mark Lennihan/AP)

“The vast majority of the funding is used to pay the police officers that are required to provide security for the area. That includes overtime, salaries, obviously significantly upgraded deployment of officers in the area,” Phillips said in a phone interview.

Phillips said the extended length of time that New York is tasked with protecting Trump — from Election Day until Inauguration Day — sets this assignment apart from other high-security events like the New York City Marathon or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“This is a prolonged responsibility,” he said. “Months of securing the future leader of the free world and a high-profile residence in the middle of one of the busiest areas of one of the busiest cities in the world. It is an absolutely unprecedented challenge, and that’s why it’s so expensive.”

The first public rumblings that suggested New York officials felt they were getting a raw deal came on Nov. 21, with a report from CNN. Three New York officials told the network that protecting Trump and his family was costing the city more than $1 million a day. These unnamed sources said the figure wasn’t expected to drop off significantly after he’s inaugurated because New York will still be home to the Trump family.

His wife, Melani Trump, and their son Barron will stay in New York after President Trump moves to the White House, so frequent visits to Trump Tower are anticipated.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks to the press in front of Trump Tower after his meeting with President-elect Donald Trump, Nov. 16, 2016. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

On Dec. 5, de Blasio announced that he was sending a letter to President Obama asking for $35 million for Trump’s safety between Election Day and Inauguration Day. This works out to roughly $480,000 per day, still a substantial figure although less than half the expense cited by CNN. When asked how they decided upon the $35 million figure, Phillips said, “The NYPD and the Office of Management and Budget sat down and tallied what it’s been costing up until this point and projected that number up through inauguration.”

De Blasio said his office would work aggressively to secure this money.

The mayor said city officials take the congestion around Trump Tower seriously and are constantly working to improve the flow of traffic. He said the first few weeks after Trump’s election were accompanied by “the shock of something that took a whole new approach than we’ve ever had to before.”

NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said the traffic problems centered on the key intersection of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue (the location of Tiffany’s) extend up and down both thoroughfares.

Ydanis Rodriguez, the transportation committee chair for the New York City Council, had called on Trump to move his operations to one of his other properties, such as Mar-a- in Florida. When asked if he shares this sentiment, Blasio said that he respects Trump’s right to make his cabinet decisions in the setting that works best for him.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks to members of the media in the lobby at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 6, 2016. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

“He has to do what he thinks will allow him to put together the team to govern this nation, and I don’t want to second guess him as to which location is best to do that. Obviously, if it’s a jump ball, I’d say go to that beautiful golf course in New Jersey,” he said. Trump heldone weekend’s worth of meetings at Trump National Golf Club resort in Bedminster, N.J.

The Secret Service is responsible for protecting the president-elect but it has a long history of working with local police departments — in this case, the NYPD — to carry out this mission.

“Local police departments always had some role in providing that protection,” Phillips said. “The Secret Service isn’t an all-encompassing body when it comes to this sort of work. They need the cops on the ground.”