new york city won<u+2019>t close fifth avenue as it works with the u.s. secret service to provide security outside trump tower, the home of president-elect donald trump, police commissioner james o<u+2019>neill said friday. the midtown stretch of the manhattan street , one of the world<u+2019>s busiest hubs, has been closed at times since mr. trump<u+2019>s election while the city has taken security measures or accommodated demonstrations at trump tower, which is now considered a terrorist target. even though those closures won<u+2019>t be made permanent, visitors to the area can still expect a heavy police presence, bag checks and some closed lanes, officials said, as they attempt to maintain security while minimizing the disruption to local businesses and residents. <u+201c>we are striving for the proper balance here. it will be a fluid plan that changes as circumstances dictate,<u+201d> mr. o<u+2019>neill said. the secret service didn<u+2019>t go into detail about what it will be doing in the city, only saying that it is a <u+201c>collaborative effort<u+201d> with local law enforcement. friday<u+2019>s announcement was among the measures the nypd will be implementing until jan. 20, when mr. trump is expected to move into the white house. <u+201c>we are devoted to making sure this city will keep moving,<u+201d> mayor bill de blasio said. <u+201c>this is a big challenge and an unprecedented challenge.<u+201d> authorities are still working to develop a security plan for trump tower after mr. trump takes office. that will largely depend on how often he is in town, officials said. the city has been in discussions with the federal government to be reimbursed for some of the security costs, including overtime, officials said. the nypd has closed off 56th street between fifth and madison avenues, setting up a mobile police command center and a portable barricade at the corner of 56th street and madison avenue. since the election, the nypd has assigned about 50 additional officers, including traffic agents, to manage daytime traffic around trump tower, officials said. officers will also be in elevated areas and on rooftops, nypd chief of department carlos gomez said. the nypd plans to conduct more aggressive traffic enforcement on fifth avenue, particularly truck traffic, for which there are already strict rules, mr. de blasio said. truck traffic will be diverted on southbound fifth avenue from 60th street to 55th street and along 56th street between fifth and sixth avenues. other measures include uniformed police officers assigned to security posts around trump tower, security checkpoints and bag screenings near fifth avenue. write to pervaiz shallwani at pervaiz.shallwani@wsj.com
fifth avenue won<u+2019>t close as nypd and secret service take security measures - wsj
pervaiz shallwani