In his most critical comments of the plan thus far, Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday said the security costs surrounding the September 11th terror trials could total $1 billion over four years.

The mayor said while he thinks the city can do a good job providing security for the trials, he would prefer they be held elsewhere.

"It would be great if the federal government could find a site that wouldn't cost a billion dollars, which using downtown Manhattan will and it will also impact traffic and commerce and people's lifestyles and it would be great if we didn't do it," Bloomberg said.

The comments are somewhat of a reversal from Bloomberg's initial remarks in November when he called the decision to hold the trials close to the World Trade Center site "fitting."