For the first time since 2020, The Guardian Angels will resume their patrols on NYC subways as crime continues to rise.
Curtis Sliwa, an American activist, radio talk show host, and founder and CEO of The Guardian Angels, shared the group will reappear in response to “sky-high” crime, including the shocking murder of a sleeping woman, who was lit on fire by an illegal immigrant.
Guardian Angels will re-appear on subways again in response to sky-high crime pic.twitter.com/53lynsOvc6
— New York Post (@nypost) December 29, 2024
Silwa shared on X, “The Guardian Angels are patrolling subway trains in Coney Island after a woman was set on fire early Sunday morning at the Stillwell Avenue station.”
“The volunteer safety group is focusing on idle trains, where people often seek shelter from the cold. During their patrols, the Angels are encouraging riders to stay aware of their surroundings and offering assistance, like directing them to nearest shelters.”
Curtis Sliwa, who founded the Guardian Angels in 1979, said Sunday he would have 150 of his volunteer members on regular duty throughout the subway system, starting out at hubs like Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue and then dispersing out throughout the subways.
The announcement came in the wake of the Dec. 23 arson attack at the station where a woman, believed to be homeless, was deliberately burned alive on board a stationary F train in what appeared to be a random attack that shocked and horrified New Yorkers.
During their first day of patrols, Guardian Angels at the Coney Island stop came upon a woman vomiting and begging for help. A member dialed 911, and another member provided her with water.
The incident proved too much for one of the Angels who stepped off the train and became emotional, tears streaming down her face. Several individuals stayed with the sick woman as the patrol continued.
Some of the unhoused individuals barely noticed Sliwa and his crew when they jostled them to get their attention. Yet Sliwa said he and his group have their attention; he went on to criticize the city for doing “nothing” to abate the homelessness situation in the subways and provide relief.
“It’s a moving homeless hotel of emotionally disturbed persons, of homeless people who live on the subway. The city does nothing about it, there’s no intervention, there’s no wellness check,” Sliwa said. ”I’ve never seen the subways this bad, not even in 1979 when we began the Guardian Angels. But the problem then was gangs. Now, they call it random attacks.”