Guardian Angels
Overview
The Guardian Angels were founded in 1979 by Curtis Sliwa in New York City. Curtis Sliwa was a McDonald's manager before he got tired of the danger the subway posed. Over the years it has taken on feeding those in need, mentoring youths, teaching self-defense, and patrolling the subways. Locals seem to greatly appreciate having these people in red berets around and feel safer with them nearby. However, government officials commonly disparage them, possibly due to their presence indicating the government is unable to protect its own citizens.
Feeding Those in Need
The subways draw those in need as it provides relative shelter from the cold and weather. The Guardian Angels go throughout the trains offering the homeless alcohol wipes to clean their hands with as well as food and water. During the Covid-19 outbreak they also cleaned surfaces the homeless were sleeping on in order to slow the spread of the disease according to 360. Feeding the homeless helps those in dire need of assistance and who just want to feel seen. But not only does it help people who find themselves in rough spots, it also grants those on patrol a focus on those who need help instead of leading them to seek out criminals who need to be stopped.
Mentoring Youths
The Guardian Angels mentor youths in an attempt to create stronger communities. Although this work is not highly publicized, it is quite possibly the most important aspect. The mentorship helps show youths they have a future. Without strong role models and a cause to work for, many individuals end up falling into drugs, gangs, and lives of crime. Through encouraging young people's energy in healthy directions, respect for the organization can be created and the problems the organization seeks to solve (homelessness and dangerous societies) can be prevented before they start. Young people today are suffering from depression and a lack of purpose that this organization can grant them.
Self Defense and Patrols
The organization is known to train individuals in self defense. Additionally members often go on patrols throughout the city. They conduct their patrols unarmed with each member of a patrol having to go through a pat-down to ensure no weapons are forgotten about. The group's iconic look with red berets and white "Guardian Angel" t-shirts is quite memorable and any vulnerable individual knows where to seek assistance should they find themselves in trouble. Additionally, their overly visible appearance creates a bit of a crime deterrent as it is known that they will step in should anyone try something. The respect for this organization leads the mere presence of individuals to be successful crime deterrents.
Ray - An Untouchable
90 year old Ray Alvarez has been the owner of a store called Ray's Candy Store for decades. He was attacked by 2 men after asking what was in the bag the men were trying to sell him. The bag allegedly contained 'soda.' However he was brutally attacked and beaten so badly that "he now eats through a straw" according to the NY Post. The owner, who had stood up for the founder of the Guardian Angels many years previously, was given protection outside his store and given a Guardian Angels friendship award in an attempt to make him an untouchable.
Founding the Shasta County Chapter
The Guardian Angels founded a new chapter in Shasta County, California in 2016 after a Facebook group of locals invited them. The locals apparently did not feel safe in their hometown and wanted to do something about it. The Guardian Angels set a goal to be fully operational within 3 months. The location was much quieter than what the Guardian Angels in cities was used to. They managed to get suspicious individuals to disperse easily and received great support from the locals.
BLM Riots
During the BLM riots, members of the Guardian Angels were reportedly called on to prevent the widespread looting throughout New York City. They were especially effective since they were known to be seeking to keep the peace without having any outside authority. With the widespread anger against the police and cries to defund the police, any ties to an official organization would only have provoked protesters.
Patrols following 2024
The Guardian Angels started patrols of the subway again after a woman was set on fire while asleep in a subway train on December 22, 2024. This woman had been living in a homeless shelter in New Jersey before moving to New York City. Her attacker was Sebastian Zapeta who was an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who seemed to be unphased after fanning the flames. The Guardian Angels believe this indicates a lack of personal responsibility that no one stepped in to stop this attack.
This occurred mere hours before a man was pushed onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The police say recorded major crime is down in the subways, however killings in the subway rose from 5 in 2023 to 9 in 2024. Additionally this was around the same time a man named Jordan Neely was killed on a subway after threatening passengers. During the trial of Daniel Penny, the man who took his life in self defense, there were apparently only 3 of the hundred of jurors interviewed who had not had bad experiences with people on the subway. This widespread acknowledgement of the dangers of the subway provides strong reasoning for the Guardian Angels' return to patrolling the subways.