Staff Reports
New York’s holiday season is getting stranger by the year: what should be a joyful time for families and small businesses has turned into a logistics exercise around security for the well-connected. City planners quietly trimmed the popular Fifth Avenue Holiday Open Streets from multiple weekends to just a single Sunday, explicitly citing “logistical challenges” tied to increased security at Trump Tower — proof that political theater and elite protection now shape how the public experiences our shared spaces.
Make no mistake, this is not about safety for ordinary New Yorkers; it’s about accommodating a gilded address and its entourage while everyone else loses out. The decision to shrink the open-streets program — an event that used to bring crowds, shoppers, and real revenue to local merchants — shows who matters in today’s big-city calculations.
For hardworking Americans who cherish real Christmas traditions, Trump Tower means something different: it’s a place voters and families still flock to for the sparkle and old-school New York glamour that city officials and the media love to demonize. The Trump family has long celebrated at their Manhattan base, and generations of visitors have made holiday memories on Fifth Avenue — memories that city hall’s planning decisions are now making harder to come by.
Meanwhile, the city can’t stop talking about redesigning Fifth Avenue into a permanent pedestrian corridor — a project sold on “safety” and “revitalization” while conveniently sidestepping who benefits most from the changes. Officials point to millions in added spending from past open-street events as a selling point for big civic redesigns, yet they still allow security priorities for private interests to shrink public access during the most important retail weeks of the year.
Conservatives and small-business supporters should be honest about what’s happening: civic resources and public space are being bent to the will of prestige and politics, not the needs of families or the merchants who pay taxes and create jobs. If the city is serious about helping Main Street Midtown, it should protect holiday access and commerce first — not rearrange the calendar so a single building’s security footprint dictates everyone else’s Christmas plans.
So when commentators make a fuss about someone choosing to spend Christmas at Trump Tower, remember what really matters: ordinary Americans who want safe, affordable, and joyful public celebrations. Don’t let the elites and their security nets turn the holidays into a private club experience; demand that city leaders restore holiday traditions that benefit the many, not the favored few.
