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    • Trump wins to change Palm Beach security
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    Trump wins to change Palm Beach security

    Umito Posted on

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    What will happen next in terms of security around President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach?

    To understand what residents can expect in the coming months and years as Trump begins his second term in the White House, there is precedent: the four years Trump was president.

    Still, sources have previously told the Daily News that while the past is a good indication of what’s to come, security could be tighter this time around.

    More frequent visits possible

    For the first two years of his tenure in the White House, Trump’s permanent residence was in New York.

    That changed in 2019, when he and First Lady Melania Trump declared Palm Beach their home by filing a declaration of domicile with the Palm Beach County Clerk’s Office.

    Until last year, Trump primarily spent his weekends at Mar-a-Lago during Palm Beach’s social season, arriving for longer visits during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter holidays.

    During his election campaign last year, Trump spent increasing amounts of time at his Palm Beach home. While he previously found it difficult to spend more than a few days each summer at Mar-a-Lago, he preferred Palm Beach to New York and his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he usually spent the most of his time. during the summer months.

    Between now and his inauguration in January, a Trump adviser told the Palm Beach Post that Trump will lead his transition from Mar-a-Lago.

    After his inauguration, Trump may spend more time at the White House during the week. But he is expected to go there on weekends and favor trips to Mar-a-Lago over trips to the presidential retreat at Camp David, as he did during his first term of office as president.

    Traffic and road closures

    One of the biggest questions asked by Palm Beach residents, business owners and visitors in recent days has been: What happens next with South Ocean Boulevard?

    The road has been closed, first completely and then intermittently, since July 20, when the U.S. Secret Service ordered it closed from the Southern Boulevard roundabout northward to the intersection with South County Road . The move follows the July 13 assassination attempt at a Trump campaign rally, which injured the presidential candidate and two of his supporters, and left another person dead.

    When initially announced, South Ocean was to be completely closed 24 hours a day, every day, at least until the November 5 general election. The Secret Service, Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office announced an agreement in August to reopen the road when Trump is gone for a long enough period of time that it makes sense, on the logistics and security plan, to remove checkpoints. officials said.

    Residents and people with business in the area blocked by the road closure should enter through the north checkpoint on South County Road, and only emergency vehicles can pass through the south checkpoint.

    A former Secret Service agent told the Daily News earlier this year that South Ocean Boulevard should have been closed as soon as Trump was elected, citing major safety concerns regarding how close vehicles can approach Mar- a-Lago as they pass South Ocean Boulevard. .

    Another security expert told the Daily News that if Trump wins a second term in the White House, officials may need to consider a more permanent option near Mar-a-Lago to provide daily protection, even when Trump is not not there.

    During Trump’s first term, periodic road closures fractured Palm Beach. Business owners lamented the lack of traffic in Midtown and people complained of hours-long delays at the Royal Park Bridge. It’s unclear exactly what will happen between now and Inauguration Day, but residents can expect that, with Trump leading his transition from Mar-a-Lago, there will be few moments when South Ocean Boulevard will be able to open.

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    Donald Trump supporters react to 2024 election results near Mar-a-Lago

    Trump supporters in Palm Beach gathered to celebrate his victory on a bridge near Mar-a-Lago, which had increased security after election night.

    Air traffic from Palm Beach International

    During Trump’s first term as president, the Federal Aviation Administration diverted air traffic from Mar-a-Lago to protect the airspace above the Palm Beach property when Trump was there.

    The FAA issued temporary flight restrictions that prevented all but essential air travel in the region, and prevented planes from taking off and landing at the Palm Beach County General Aviation Airport, on Lantana Road. almost bankrupt this facility. A brightly colored business that operated for a decade out of Lantana Airport went bankrupt in 2017 because of the restrictions.

    Flight restrictions were implemented over Mar-a-Lago after July 13, when Trump was there, but they were not as strict as when he was at the White House. It’s unclear how the FAA will proceed with these flight restrictions now that Trump has been elected.

    Coast Guard Restrictions

    Those who regularly pass by Mar-a-Lago by boat will know in recent weeks that security has been increased in the waters surrounding the property.

    During Trump’s first term, the U.S. Coast Guard initially set up temporary safety zones until 2018, when the agency set up permanent safety zones around Mar-a-Lago that prevented boaters to enter the Intracoastal Waterway closest to the club when Trump was at home. Boats could pass through but not stop in the Intracoastal further west of Mar-a-Lago and just east of the estate in the Atlantic Ocean.

    The Coast Guard announced in August that he would implement these security zones again temporarily during Trump’s visits to Palm Beach. The safety zones also include changes to the operating hours of the three bridges that connect West Palm Beach to Palm Beach.

    When Trump is at home, the Flagler Memorial and Southern Boulevard bridges have similar operating hours:

    • Monday to Friday: From 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., the bridge will open every quarter hour; from 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., the bridge will open every quarter and three quarters of an hour; from 2:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., the bridge will open every quarter of an hour; and from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., the bridge will open every quarter and three quarters of an hour.
    • Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: The bridge will open every quarter and three quarters of an hour.

    The South Boulevard Bridge could also close without notice to allow processions to pass through without interruption, the Coast Guard said. Because the bridge’s opening hours are staggered, the Royal Park Bridge’s schedule when Trump is in town is different than the other two bridges:

    • Monday to Friday: From 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., the bridge will open every half hour; from 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., the bridge will open on the hour and half hour; from 2:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., the bridge will open every half hour; and from 6 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., the bridge will open on the hour and half hour.
    • Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: The bridge will open on the hour and half hour.

    Protection costs

    Trump’s first 27 visits to Mar-a-Lago as president cost local governments and law enforcement an estimated $13.7 million, The Palm Beach Post reported in November 2020.

    Since July, when security around Trump was increased, Palm Beach has spent about $3,600 per day and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office has spent an average of an additional $93,000 per day to protect Trump when he found at Mar-a-Lago. according to a letter sent in September by local officials to members of the U.S. Congress who represent Palm Beach County.

    More: City of Palm Beach spends up to $3,600 a day to protect Trump at Mar-a-Lago

    Officials told the Daily News that a second Trump term in the White House would result in additional costs.

    During Trump’s first term, Palm Beach County and New York City officials worked with the federal government to create a grant program — the Presidential Residence Protection Assistance Grant — that reimbursed state governments. State and local law enforcement costs skyrocketed as agencies scrambled to protect a session. president who has frequently visited several personal properties, some of which are in high-traffic areas such as Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach and Trump Tower in New York.

    The grant is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Records show the amount budgeted for the grant each year has decreased since Trump left office, from $41 million available each year from 2017 to 2020, to $12.7 million in 2021, and then to $3 million per year in 2022 and 2023.

    It is unclear exactly how much will be budgeted for the government’s next fiscal year.

    Umito
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