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Businesses near Trump Tower air concerns with city’s SBS

Some businesses near Trump Tower are getting a holiday gift: The city’s Department of Small Business Services is taking notice and trying to make things a bit easier.

Small businesses in the midtown area around President-elect Donald Trump’s namesake tower have taken a beating in recent weeks as security was heightened following the election, limiting foot traffic in the area.

SBS Commissioner Gregg Bishop said in a statement that the situation presents an “unprecedented challenge.” The agency met with small business owners and police to ease the burden, including making it clearer to businesses how they can receive scheduled deliveries and where foot traffic is allowed.

“The City of New York is doing everything in its power to listen and to respond to the needs of small business owners in the vicinity of Trump Tower,” Bishop said. “Your voice has been heard, and we will continue to do everything we can to help.”

Another issue, according to the SBS, is the police mobile command center, which doesn’t sit in front of a business but makes foot traffic particularly difficult. According to the SBS, the NYPD is working to make this less obstructive.

The chaos surrounding the tower — from street closures and pedestrian checkpoints to slow moving, photo-snapping tourists as well as protesters — has translated to a less than stellar holiday shopping season for businesses in the area. Last month, Tiffany & Co. reported its flagship store, at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, had experienced a “sales softness” related to “recent election-related activity.”

At the time, a spokesman for the jeweler said the store was working closely with the NYPD and the U.S. Secret Service, and that customers could enter on 57th Street.