Is Secret Service protection now an "amenity" of Trump Tower?

New York real estate agency Douglas Elliman allegedly sent out an email advertising the "amenity" of 24/7 security

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published December 6, 2016 10:05PM (EST)

FILE - This April 8, 2016 file photo shows the entrance to Trump Tower in New York. (AP)
FILE - This April 8, 2016 file photo shows the entrance to Trump Tower in New York. (AP)

Donald Trump's personal hideaway at Trump Tower, where he's costing New York City taxpayers $400,000 per day to be protected, has a new selling point: Secret service security.

Real estate brokers are treating the protection as an "amenity" for individuals lucky enough to afford to stay there.

“Fifth Avenue Buyers Interested in Secret Service Protection?” read the subject heading in an email allegedly sent out by New York real estate agency Douglas Elliman, according to a report by Politico on Tuesday. According to the story, the email advertised a $2.1 million, 1,052-square-foot condo in Trump Tower and specifically drew attention to the impending Secret Service protection there as an "aminity" [sic].

"The New Aminity [sic] – The United States Secret Service," the Nov. 13 email allegedly proclaimed, also adding that it was “The best value in the most secure building in Manhattan."

Whether this was a selling point by the Trump Organization or a rogue real estate agent being tongue-in-cheek is unclear. The Douglas Elliman agency neither confirmed nor denied the story.

In November it came out that renting two vacant floors of the 68-story building and making them operational for the purposes of both the Secret Service and NYPD would cost more than $3 million each year.

Although Trump's name is on Trump Tower, most of the 263 units within the building are individually owned. The Trump Corporation retains a processing fee for unit sales — $2,000 per application plus $250 for each additional adult occupant.

 


By Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer at Salon. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012 and was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022.

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Donald Trump Secret Service Trump Tower