UNION SQUARE, Manhattan (WABC) — The recent rash of crime on the subway is now calling the Guardian Angels to take action. They are now pledging to tackle the problem on the platforms to help curb crime and get mentally ill individuals the help they need.
While New Yorkers were used to seeing the Guardian Angels frequently in the 80s, with the spike in subway crimes, they say they want to help.
Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels says the recent uptick in violent crime has many shaken, and now he is deploying his team.
“We are going to critique who the emotionally disturbed persons are and see if we can enforce the issue and get them the mental health care they deserve,” Sliwa says.
On Sunday morning, a 51-year-old man was stabbed in the back after a dispute at Penn Station. On Saturday night a man was slashed and punched in the face at Grand Central Terminal. Just last week, a woman was pushed onto the tracks with an oncoming train in Union Square.
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NEW YORK – Milton and Silvia Oliver from the South Bronx say they make a good team. They’ve been married for 34 years, have four adult kids, and enjoy their four grandkids together.
They also love New York. That’s why they’ve volunteered with the Guardian Angels since the 1980s.
Days after a woman was pushed onto the subway tracks at Union Square, narrowly avoiding serious injury, the Olivers patrol. They say they are looking for people who are homeless.
What You Need To Know
Guardian Angels started in 1979 with subway safety patrols
Pairs of volunteers will engage with subway riders who appear to be a threat to others or themselves
NYPD data shows six murders and six rapes happened on the subways so far this year; that’s double the amount reported through the same time last year
Guardian Angels Plan Underground Safety Patrols Amid Growing Subway Crime
“They sleep on the sides. You look for them to make sure they’re not in danger of falling into the track,” said Milton Oliver, a volunteer with the nonprofit since 1982.
It is a renewed effort announced Sunday by Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the nonprofit. He is also planning a run for mayor next year.
“The Guardian Angels is announcing its intervention program for emotionally disturbed persons that we’ve not only dealt with above ground, but also, we can see continue to be a menace to themselves and everyone else below ground,” Sliwa said at a press conference Sunday outside of the Union Square subway station.
The plans are announced after comments Friday from Police Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch accusing the city of preventing officers from keeping people safe.
The organization started in 1979 when Sliwa and a dozen others rode the subways conducting safety patrols. It was an effort to prevent crime.
Plans announced Sunday are a response to rising subway crime. Hundreds of volunteers, like the like the Olivers, will be dispatched to patrol.
Data from the NYPD show six murders and six rapes have happened on the subways so far this year. That’s double the amount reported through the same time last year. Robberies are also up by nearly 13 percent, from 455 to 514. Felony assaults are nearly the same – 305 this year and 310 last year.
Milton Oliver says subway riders need to be on guard.
“If you want to listen to music, one headphone. Listen to the announcement. Listen to what’s going on around you. Don’t stay like this on your phone because you won’t see who is approaching you,” he said.
Working in pairs, the Guardian Angels will canvass the underground. If they encounter people who seem to be a threat to themselves or others, the volunteers plan to engage them, first trying to de-escalate the situation, calling 911 and 311, and the Department of Homeless Services.
The Olivers say if someone tries to get violent with them, they’re ready.
“Sometimes I worry about pulling her away,” Milton Oliver said of his wife, Sylvia.
“I’m dangerous, trust me. We are martial arts masters,” Sylvia Oliver said.
The couple says they are trained in how to defend themselves and restrain another without causing injury. They say the training has be used before.
“We try not to hurt the person physically, but sometimes, sometimes they want to take a swing at you, so you defend yourself, you block, and you put them in a lock for two seconds and then control them,” said Milton Oliver.
It’s a risk the Olivers and the rest of the Guardian Angels say they are willing to take.
“We are going to make the city agencies do what it is they get paid to do, and if they’re not gonna do it, then the Guardian Angels will do it,” Sliwa said at the press conference. “We’re going to force the issue as we have forced the issue before, because who else can people depend on?”
“The city needs to do much more to ensure that those who are mentally ill get the services they need,” said MTA Spokesman Andrei Berman in a statement to NY1, adding, “As we continue to do the work of moving millions of essential workers and other New Yorkers during this crisis, we appreciate the work and partnership of the NYPD and the MTA PD to police the subway system and investigate these isolated incidents an make arrests when they occur.”
