The volunteer patrol group The Guardian Angels will return to New York City subway trains following a string of high-profile violent crimes, including the murder of a woman set on fire by a Guatemalan migrant last week.
Curtis Sliwa, the group’s founder and a former New York mayoral candidate, announced the decision at the Brooklyn station where the woman was killed. He said the group will expand its operations to levels not seen since its inception 45 years ago.
“We’re going to have to increase our numbers, increase the training and increase our presence as we did back in 1979,” Sliwa stated.
“We went from 13 to 1,000 [members] back then within a period of a year,” he continued. “Because the need was there. The need is here now once again. We’re going to step up. We’re going to make sure we have a visual presence just like we had in the ’70s, 80’s and ’90s.”
The announcement follows the shocking incident from last week when a woman was killed while sleeping on an F train that pulled into the station. Police arrested Guatemalan migrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil who allegedly committed the unprovoked attack of lighting her on fire. Following the incident, Sliwa claimed “hundreds of citizens” called on the Guardian Angels to resume patrolling subway cars.
The group will focus on conducting wellness checks for homeless and emotionally disturbed individuals, providing water to those in need, and reporting incidents to the NYPD.
“We’re covering the actual trains from front to back, walking through the trains and making sure that everything is okay,” Sliwa told the New York Post on Sunday. “We’re doing this constantly now. Starting today. that’s going to be our complete focus because the subways are out of control.”
The Guardian Angels last patrolled subway trains in 2020 amid attacks on Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the group has 150 members in New York City and plans to begin their renewed patrols at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station.
Sliwa criticized the lack of law enforcement presence in the subway system, labeling it as a factor in the uptick of violent crime on subways.
“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. Never,” he said.
In response to the announcement, an MTA worker expressed cautious optimism about the patrols. The worker told the New York Post that the idea sounds good, but that the problem will not be solved overnight.
“I think it’ll help,” the worker said. “I don’t think the cops downstairs are going to like it, but yeah. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there are no cops up here.”
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