Guardian Angels To Return To NYC Subways After Multiple Assaults And Murders

In 1979-1980 at the height of the decade-long stagflationary crisis wrought by Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, New York City was reeling from a growing crime wave.  The mayor was Edward Irving Koch, a lifelong Democrat who described himself as a “liberal with sanity”.   

During that same period the federal government passed the Refugee Act, which led to the infamous Mariel Boatlift in 1980 and a surge of 125,000 Cubans into the US.  A large number of these refugees were criminals from Cuban prisons, set loose by Fidel Castro and shipped off to Florida to relieve the Cuban prison system. 

Many of these same violent criminals ended up in NYC, welcomed by the US immigration system with open arms.

City residents were hit with a crippling crime wave, then New York State and NYC passed stringent gun laws in 1980, making it nearly impossible for law abiding citizens to carry and protect themselves.  New York subways in particular were considered far too dangerous for the average person, though many were too poor to afford alternative transportation. 

The situation was so bad that muggers were even getting robbed by other muggers, yet, city officials tried to diminish the threat as a matter of people using the subways at “the wrong time of day”.  

When the Democrat controlled state government disarmed the population and then refused to provide practical protection for them, people took matters into their own hands and formed citizen security groups.  The most famous of these groups was the Guardian Angels.  The organization set out to train common New Yorkers for hand-to-hand self defense and deter violent crime, especially in the subways and in Central Park. 

The Guardian Angels operated in NY for years and proved effective in preventing crime and intervening to stop crimes in progress.  They were accused of being “vigilantes”, but because they did not carry weapons their presence was mostly tolerated by the city government.  Their operations faded by the end of the 1990s, then made a short comeback around 2020.  Founder Curtis Sliwa says that he believes the Guardian Angels are needed again in 2025. 

New Yorkers seem to agree.  One grateful New Yorker even planted a kiss on Sliwa as his red-beret-wearing crew poked around the darkest corners of Bronx and Manhattan stations looking for trouble.  “It’s good to see ya’ll back,” Bronx resident Tammy Benson, 60, told Sliwa after giving him a kiss at the 125th Street station in Harlem. “You and them need to come back. I’m grateful to see it. I feel really blessed when I see [Sliwa]. It’s been like 40 years and he’s really sweet and kind.”

Another Manhattanite, Natalie Lora, says the Angels are a welcome sight.

“We need them,” said Lora, 40. “It’s that time: We need them again. We’re happy to see them. If you’re a native New Yorker then you know.”

Today, New York is run by a more extreme breed of liberal.  They have become increasingly hostile towards the idea of citizen anti-crime efforts and “vigilantes” while violent assaults are on the rise. 

In fact, taking matters into your own hands in NYC almost guarantees prosecution even if you don’t use a weapon.  The case of Daniel Penny proved that the progressive court system is intent on pursuing jail time for anyone caught physically impeding criminal activity. 

Penny was acquitted on all charges by a jury, but the people who went after him are still in power and are still as malicious as ever.  Why do they hate people like Penny?  Because leftist governments seek to control resources, and they see security as a resource.  If people provide that resource for themselves then the population might realize that they don’t need the leftist government.

Curtis Sliwa is ready to bring back regular patrols of Guardian Angels despite likely city opposition.  Sliwa ran for Mayor of NYC in 2021 as a Republican but lost the election to Democrat Eric Adams; a decision New York voters should be ashamed of in the face of Adams’ long list of failures.  

BREAKING: Since NY Governor Hochul won’t do her job, the Guardian Angels are now going to start patrolling the subways again.

pic.twitter.com/UDJk4tcZkh

— Gunther Eagleman (@GuntherEagleman) December 29, 2024

The hostility to citizen action plays as a backdrop to some horrific criminal activity.  Right after an illegal immigrant from Guatemala named Sebastion Zapeta set a sleeping woman on fire and then fanned the flames while transit police stood by and did nothing, Governor Kathy Hochul came out on social media to reassure New Yorkers and the country that the subways were safe. 

Multiple attacks have happened since, including a man being shoved in front of an oncoming train by a 23-year-old assailant for no apparent reason. 

NYC subway shover is 23-year-old Kamel Hawkins and he’s just been charged with attempted m*rder for shoving a 45-year-old man in front of a train at the 18th Street station today.

The victim will reportedly survive. pic.twitter.com/kouKZbhqzK

— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) January 1, 2025

Not surprisingly, 27 of the top 30 most violent cities in America are run by Democrats and their weak crime policies have led to disaster.  New York is a larger symbol of a systemic problem that can only be solved two ways – Citizen intervention, or the removal of leftist politicians from office.