A visitor to the streets outside Trump Tower is likely to encounter a cluster of officers, some dressed in Homeland Security bulletproof vests, as well as security trucks and metal barricades. New York Police Department vehicles line the block. All that security, designed to protect the president and his family, comes at a price – and this tool will add it up.

President Donald Trump primarily lives in the White House, of course, but his apartment in the middle of the largest U.S. metropolis is still a security priority even when the president isn't in Manhattan. First Lady Melania Trump and the couple's young son, Barron, relocated from the tower to D.C. earlier this year. Nonetheless, the skyscraper is still symbolic of the president and his values, often attracting both protesters and fans.

The baseline security expense to protect Trump Tower when the president is elsewhere is about $149,000 a day, according to a letter the local police commissioner, James O’Neill, sent Congress in late December. When President Trump is in New York, the price more than doubles to $308,000 a day. This counter will estimate those expenses depending on the president's whereabouts.

Even before he took office, security for Donald Trump's Manhattan home had cost the city of New York $25.7 million, according to the NYPD. The cost during the roughly two-month period when Trump was president-elect amounted to less than the $35 million the mayor’s office expected to spend. The City Council anticipated an even larger outlay of $70 million.

The bulk of that cost comes from the presence of NYPD personnel around Trump’s namesake tower on Fifth Avenue between 56th and 57th streets. “There’s a very substantial complement of officers and traffic agents that have been devoted to that concentrated area to improve the flow of traffic,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press conference in December. O’Neill added that the Trump Tower intersection is “obviously one of the busiest intersections in the city, and we are putting in a tremendous number of resources there every day.”

Exactly how the city is spending millions on Trump’s safety isn't clear. The NYPD declined to “discuss resources in regards to president or president-elect security,” and the mayor’s office said it couldn’t break down the figure further due to security concerns. A person familiar with the matter said both regular and overtime pay for police officers is included in the city’s spending.

Because the spending breakdown remains a mystery, it’s unknown if New York's multimillion-dollar security costs factor in counterterrorism units, surveillance technology, or air support. That figure doesn’t include all the other agencies protecting the president, including the Secret Service, federal intelligence agencies, private security, and the U.S. military.

Regardless of the exact cost, the city doesn’t want to be on the hook for it. Late last year, de Blasio sent letters to Congress seeking reimbursement for those security costs; O’Neill sent a similar letter in late February. The mayor also discussed reimbursements with Steve Mnuchin, the U.S. Treasury secretary. Congress has allocated $7 million toward those costs, according to the mayor's office, although reimbursement for $25.7 million spent on security following Trump's election has yet to be approved.

It’s normal for local police departments to secure a president's home away from the White House. The City of Chicago spent about $1.5 million securing Obama’s home from the 2008 election to inauguration, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

Overall, the cost of protecting Trump Tower is a drop in New York’s spending bucket. The executive budget for the 2017 fiscal year comes in at $82.2 billion, while the local security cost for Trump Tower amounts to roughly $58 million annually, far less than 1 percent of operating expenses. That's a baseline figure assuming Trump doesn't spend time in Manhattan. If he does, the price will increase.

As the tally to protect Trump and his Manhattan home rises, city officials are honing their dunning message for the new president. “We know we have pressing budgetary needs like record homelessness, an affordable housing crisis, and more,” said Devon Puglia, a spokesman for the city comptroller's office. “We believe the federal government must reimburse the city for the full security costs for this unique situation. We hope they don’t come at the expense of the New Yorkers who need government's help most.”

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