Barriers at Trump Tower come down after more than 4 years

The barriers surrounding Trump Tower in New York came down on Wednesday after more than four years, another moment signaling the end of the Trump presidency.

“In partnership with the United States Secret Service the decision was made to remove the barriers around Trump Tower,” New York Police Department Sergeant Edward Riley told Gothamist. “The NYPD does not discuss security measures.”

The news outlet reports that the security around Trump Tower has cost $150 million with former President Trump’s visits costing roughly $300,000 a day. Gothamist notes that Trump’s visits have become more sporadic in recently, especially as he changed his official residence to Florida.

Bloomberg spoke to local business owners whose shops saw a drop in pedestrian traffic after the barricades were erected.

“The police barricade, armed NYPD guys with assault rifles by the Trump Tower entrance made it feel like a warzone,” Steven Soutendijk, a managing director at Cushman & Wakefield Plc, told Bloomberg.

“As more of those blockades come down, there’ll be no questions of signs of life,” Soutendijk added.

Though the security measures may have been a nuisance for those nearby, they were not entirely unwarranted.

In late January, Jaylyn Christopher Molina from Texas pleaded guilty to planning attacks on Trump Tower, as well as the White House. Molina was arrested in September along with Kristopher Sean Matthews from South Carolina. The two men were reportedly planning an attack that would give them “rock star status.”