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By: Jordan Baker
The Guardian Angels, the iconic red-beret-wearing volunteer patrol group, are returning to New York City’s subway system in response to last week’s horrific arson murder of a sleeping woman on an F train. Curtis Sliwa, the group’s founder, announced Sunday that the Angels are bolstering their ranks to levels not seen since their formation in 1979.
“We’re going to have to increase our numbers, increase the training, and increase our presence as we did back in 1979,” Sliwa stated at Brooklyn’s Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island station, where the victim was killed. The murder, described by authorities as unprovoked, has sparked calls from the public for the Guardian Angels to help address safety concerns.
Following the gruesome crime, Sliwa claimed that “hundreds of citizens” have urged the Angels to resume subway patrols. The group, which last patrolled the transit system in 2020, has begun focusing on trains starting at the Stillwell Avenue station.
“We’re covering the actual trains from front to back, walking through and making sure everything is okay,” Sliwa told the New York Post. He emphasized the group’s role in preventing bystander apathy. “It was an example of people just not getting involved,” he said, referencing the lack of intervention during the recent attack. “You see something, you say something. You gotta do something.”
The Guardian Angels plan to conduct wellness checks on homeless individuals and those with emotional disturbances, provide water to those in need, and report issues to the NYPD. Sliwa underscored the dire need for their presence, comparing today’s subway conditions to those in the late 1970s when he first established the group.
“We went from 13 members to 1,000 within a year because the need was there. The need is here now once again,” Sliwa said. “I’ve never seen it this bad. Never.”
The group’s resurgence comes as authorities continue investigating the tragic murder. Police arrested Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, a Guatemalan migrant, for allegedly starting the fire that claimed the life of an unidentified woman.
The Angels’ return has sparked a mix of support and skepticism. While many New Yorkers welcome their presence, some question its effectiveness. “It won’t get fixed overnight, but, yeah, it sounds good,” an MTA worker told the Post. “I think it’ll help. 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.”
City officials, however, were less enthusiastic. A representative for Mayor Eric Adams dismissed Sliwa’s announcement as a “meaningless stunt.” In a statement, City Hall touted the administration’s deployment of 1,000 police officers per day in the subway system, emphasizing that transit crime has declined under the mayor’s leadership.
Sliwa founded the Guardian Angels in 1979 while working as a night manager at a McDonald’s in the Bronx. Starting with just 13 volunteers, the group grew to thousands of members worldwide at its peak. Despite accusations of exaggerating their exploits in the past, the Angels remain a recognizable and generally respected force in New York City.
“Our goal is to make sure New Yorkers feel safe again,” Sliwa said. “
Bystander apathy is symptomatic of a fundamentally transformed USA. The prosecution of brave Good Samaritan Daniel Penny should never have happened. It was an effective way to discourage people from helping others. Curtis Sliwa is right: “You see something, you say something. You gotta do something.” Thank you, Guardian Angels.