President-elect Donald Trump's motorcade shut down the Lincoln Tunnel in both directions at the outset of the evening rush Friday, backing up traffic for well over an hour as frustrated drivers vented over social media.
Trump left his residence at Trump Tower in midtown late Friday afternoon, then hit I-495 to his golf course in New Jersey for the weekend.
Chopper 4 over Lincoln Tunnel shows traffic at a standstill at Trump's motorcade zipped over the highway toward Bedminster.
"@realDonaldTrump, thanks for closing down the Lincoln tunnel for your motorcade at 4pm on a Friday," tweeted one woman.
Meanwhile, the NYPD and Mayor de Blasio are urging drivers to avoid the area around Trump Tower between now and Inauguration Day.
De Blasio said that as many as 50 extra officers have been assigned to the tower since election day, but that there are no plans to permanently close Fifth Avenue while Trump continues to plan his administration.
"We are devoted to make sure the city will keep moving," de Blasio said.
"President Obama has come into New York City on a regular basis and there is a refined procedure. NYPD is well suited," he continued, though he recognized that "we never had a situation where a president of the United States would be here on a regular basis... but [Trump] will be here regularly."
The mayor says the NYPD is "up to the challenge" and has an "excellent relationship with Secret Service" with a "clear set of shared goals."
Local
Trump has said that he and his wife Melania will move into the White House after inauguration day, but The New York Times reported last week that the president-elect has considered spending weekends back at Trump Tower, the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, or the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
