In a push to save midtown businesses struggling with the Trump Tower traffic security restrictions, City Councilman Dan Garodnick is requesting the city reverse traffic on West 56th Street.
The block between Fifth and Sixth avenues by Trump Tower has been closed to traffic since Nov. 9 and is now home to the NYPD’s mobile command unit tasked with protecting the area around President-elect Donald Trump’s private residence.
“Businesses on that street will not be able to withstand the challenges presented by this situation for an extended period,” said Garodnick, who represents the area and toured the block last week. “They need relief.”
In a letter dated Dec. 20 to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Garodnick requested traffic resume on the block, but that its flow be reversed westward. The block is now an eastbound, one-way street.
Garodnick also wants the city to move the NYPD command center to the other side of Fifth Avenue.