Mayor de Blasio Meets With President-Elect Donald Trump, Talks About ‘How Much Fear There Is'

What to Know

  • Mayor de Blasio and President-elect Donald Trump met for more than an hour Wednesday
  • It was their first meeting since the election, after which de Blasio, who endorsed Clinton, pledged to work with the Republican
  • Secret Service and the NYPD have been talking about how to handle Fifth Avenue and the surrounding streets when Trump is in town

Mayor Bill de Blasio met President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday at Trump Tower and afterward said he "tried to express how much fear there is" over several of the incoming commander-in-chief's campaign promises. 

De Blasio said that "nothing about our fundamental beliefs was changed" during the 62-minute meeting in Trump's midtown tower, but that he "raised a number of substantive issues" about a number of Trump's campaign promises.

"I tried to express to him how much fear there is," he said.

He added, "We need to give assurance that the rights of all New Yorkers and all Americans will be respected."

De Blasio refused to characterize anything Trump said in their conversation. But he said that he expressed concern over Trump's promises to repeal the Dodd-Frank act that reformed Wall Street after the 2007 financial crisis, to pass tax cuts for individuals and corporations, to institute a nationwide stop-and-frisk policy, and to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. De Blasio said he also reminded Trump that 900 NYPD officers were Muslim. He said also he shared "deep concerns" about Stephen Bannon, the former Breitbart News executive who is now Trump's chief strategist.

"This was a respectful meeting and a substantive meeting and a very candid meeting," de Blasio said. 

But he dismissed a reporter's notion that he was "lecturing" the president-elect and said that "there was give and take" between the two.

"I made clear that sending a message of unity is crucial," he said. 

De Blasio said that Trump "loves this city" and added that he urged the Republican president-elect to send a "sign of unity" to his hometown, which overwhelmingly voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in every borough except Staten Island. 

The meeting comes a week after an impromptu news briefing a day after the election. De Blasio, who had endorsed Hillary Clinton, said that he was "deeply disappointed" by the results but pledged to work with Trump on job creation and city infrastructure.

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@EricFPhillips / Twitter
President-elect Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio meet at Trump Tower, Nov. 16, 2016. De Blasio's spokesman tweeted that the two met for 62 minutes.

De Blasio's meeting also comes one day after sources familiar with security plans told NBC 4 New York officials are considering shutting down parts of Fifth Avenue near the building during the president-elect's visits once he's inaugurated.

Sources say the Secret Service and the NYPD are expected to meet at some point this week to hammer out the details. De Blasio said that he and NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill will outline those plans on Friday. 

There are growing concerns over security at Trump Tower in midtown. President-elect Trump’s midtown home is harder to secure than the homes of previous presidents. One idea for securing the area involves shutting down down Fifth Avenue when Trump is in town.

Aside from managing access to Fifth Avenue, the groups are weighing protocol for the other three streets -- Madison Avenue, East 56th and East 57th streets -- that form a ring around the skyscraper where Trump lives and works. 

Traffic changes could come often, too. Trump has said that he and his wife Melania will move into the White House after inauguration day, but The New York Times reports that the president-elect has considered spending weekends back at Trump Tower, the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, or the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. 

Heavily armed officers now stand guard outside the entrance of Trump Tower. The security and additional barricades are making it tougher for New Yorkers to get around. Andrew Siff reports.

Currently, there are no standing road closures outside the president-elect's midtown home and office. But authorities have placed barriers and metal gates around the building since the election, and road closures outside the building have been a near-nightly occurrence as protesters picket on Fifth Avenue.

De Blasio last week downplayed the current traffic situation outside the building, noting that "the holidays are coming anyway. Midtown is going to be all messed up anyway."

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