New York, United States:

New Yorkers walking down Fifth Avenue in recent years have become used to navigating security barriers outside Trump Tower. Now, there’s more space on the sidewalk.

The barricades that went up after Donald Trump won the presidential election in November 2016 have been removed, New York police confirmed on Thursday.

Police had already reduced their presence around Trump’s New York home, located between 56th and 57th street, following President Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20.

Last Friday, “In partnership with the US Secret Service, the decision was made to remove the barriers around Trump Tower,” an NYPD spokesman told AFP.

Since leaving the White House, Trump has moved to his resort at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, which he made his official residence at the end of 2019.

But his company the Trump Organization, which is headed by his two sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, remains based in the 58-story skyscraper near Central Park.

The spokesman would not say what security has been left in place to protect the Tower or when members of the Trump family visit.

“The NYPD does not discuss security measures” he said.

Trump Tower has been the site of many anti-Trump protests over the past four years.

Last summer, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, took great joy in joining with activists to paint a giant Black Lives Matter slogan outside the tower.