NEW YORK — The phalanx of police officers armed with assault weapons, bomb-sniffing dogs and concrete barricades causing congestion and other headaches outside Donald Trump’s home will remain in place at least until his inauguration in late January, city officials warned on Friday.

It’s a situation that has put the Republican president-elect’s hometown in the position of asking his new administration to pay ongoing costs for what Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio called an unprecedented security effort for a U.S. president’s unofficial residence.

The mayor spoke at a command center at NYPD headquarters where four video monitors carried live feeds of the intersection outside Trump Tower, in midtown Manhattan. The monitors showed how police have closed two of Fifth Avenue’s five lanes, completely barricaded the block where residents have a private entrance and set up checkpoints manned by officers in guard booths.

The measures, largely intended to fortify Trump Tower in a terror attack, have slowed motor and foot traffic outside and raised concerns among retailers it could hurt business during the holiday shopping season. Anti-Trump demonstrations have shut down Fifth Avenue entirely at least three times.


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