THE ANGELS WILL PROTECT SUBWAY RIDERS BETTER THAN COPS

Vigilante group Guardian Angels descend on NYC subways to tackle sky-high crime

 

By Melissa Koenig 

Daily Mail

Dec 29, 2024

 

Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, announced on Sunday that the 150-member group will start traveling from train car to train car to conduct wellness checks and alert Metropolitan Transportation Authority police of any dangers

 

The Guardian Angels vigilante group will once again start patrolling New York City's subway system amid rampant crime. 

Founder Curtis Sliwa announced on Sunday that the 150-member group will travel from train car to train car to conduct wellness checks and alert Metropolitan Transportation Authority police of any potential dangers.

'Our job is [to] do a wellness check on a homeless person, if they are homeless or emotionally disturbed, see if they are OK,' he told the New York Post from the Stillwell Avenue/Coney Island station - where a woman was burned alive last week.

'If all of a sudden we walk into a situation where there's an episode, which oftentimes happens, we have to calm it down,' Sliwa said.

'A lot of times, these homeless and emotionally disturbed persons, they know of the Guardian Angels, so we could have a calming effect,' he explained.

'We can also bring the situation to the attention of the cops on the platform,' he continued, claiming that the police are just patrolling the platforms and not the subway trains.

'That's why we always stick our heads out at the station, and we always check to the north to the south.

'If there are any police officers, we would hold the door open, tell the conductor we need the police here.'

 

Sliwa claimed crime on the New York City subway system is as bad as it was when he first founded the group in 1979

 

He went on to say he did not think others would act after Marine vet Daniel Penny was charged with manslaughter for putting Jordan Neely in a chokehold.

'We train, this is what we do, we know how to do it and we'll coordinate it once we get on the train with the conductor,' Sliwa said, adding that they would also ensure that the train is stopped at a station so that police can respond, and would try to keep the order.

In order to accomplish his goals, Sliwa said he is focused on increasing the group's ranks.

He noted that after he first formed the group amid spiraling crime in the Big Apple in 1979, 'we went from 13 to 1,000 [members] back then within a period of a year, because the need was there.

'The need is here now once again,' Sliwa claimed. 

'We're now back to where we were when I started the group in 1979 on the subways. It's gone full circle.

'I've never seen it this bad, ever.'

 

The announcement comes as Guatemalan migrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil , 33, faces charges for allegedly setting fire to a sleeping woman last week

MTA police were seen walking past the still-unidentified woman as she burned to death

 

The subway system recorded its tenth murder of the year - double that from the year prior - when Guatemalan migrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, allegedly set fire to a sleeping woman last week.

Between 1997 and 2019, the subway system never recorded more than five murders in a single year, according to NYPD data. 

Yet a spokesperson for New York City Mayor Eric Adams derided Sliwa for what she called his 'meaningless stunts' as she claimed the mayor 'remains focused on real solutions.

'Mayor Adams is committed to improving the lives of New Yorkers, which is why he frequently rides the subway to speak directly with everyday riders about how we can make it safer,' Kayla Mamalek told the Post.

'The mayor surged 1,000 police officers per day into the subways, has brought down overall crime and transit crime, delivering real action - not theatrics - but he knows there's still more work to be done.' 

 

Sliwa said he hopes the patrols will encourage more civilians to step up and act when they see potential dangers

 

In the meantime, Sliwa said the Guardian Angels will start their patrols at the very train station where MTA police were seen walking past the still-unidentified woman as she burned to death.

'It's the perfect place because it reminds people that nobody did anything a week ago,' he explained.

'Nobody intervened, nobody pointed to the cops and said "This is the guy." Even the cops didn't do anything.'

Sliwa said he now hopes his group's presence on the subways will encourage more civilians to step up and act.

'We're here to say, "You see something, you say something, you gotta do something."'