Gracie Mansion, home to Mayor Bill de Blasio, getting higher fence over security concerns

UPPER EAST SIDE (WABC) -- New York City's mayoral mansion is getting a higher fence after White House fence-jumping incursions recently raised security concerns.

It was less than a year ago, New York City's mayor was chatting with reporters as he did his own snow shoveling outside his home in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Now his home looks more like a gated community with a new, 10-foot gray fence behind a brick wall at

Gracie Mansion, which Mayor de Blasio had once called the people's house.

"He's hiding," said Eva Burkiewicz, a Yorkville resident.

Eva Burkiewicz is no snoop, but she says she and her dog do enjoy a "looksee" around here once in a while.

"I saw a few famous people," Burkiewicz said.

"So you like to kind of peek in?" Eyewitness News asked.

"Exactly, now nothing," Burkiewicz said.

According to the Mayor's office, the head of his security detail made the decision after examining the perimeter with the NYPD, especially in the wake of the White House fence jumping incidents.

After all, Bill de Blasio is the first New York City mayor to live in Gracie Mansion since the 9/11 attacks, and we all know how much has changed since then.

"I think it's more for his safety than anything else, and I think he is a person of the people," said Robin Persad, a Yorkville resident.

"I know it's the people's house, but at the same time if I were a tall guy I would want a tall fence," said Natalie Esposito, a Yorkville resident.

So some neighbors in Yorkville do approve, but others say this doesn't exactly scream transparency.

"That he doesn't want to have anything to do with this neighborhood, he doesn't want to know about the problems at Asphalt Green," said Marion Seltzer, a Yorkville resident.

As for the tourists, it's a bit confusing.

"Security from what? Is New York an insecure city?" said Carlos Prado, a Brazilian tourist.

New York's mayor said nothing about the fence Friday.

The price for the fence was $4,250.