The volunteer vigilante group known as the Guardian Angels is returning to the New York City subway system. The move comes in the wake of a woman’s death after she was lit on fire days before Christmas.
Founder Curtis Sliwa told the New York Post on Sunday, Dec. 29, since the woman’s murder, “hundreds of citizens” have asked to join the ranks of the Guardian Angels.
He said the squad is planning to increase its ranks. It aims to reach levels not seen since 1979. At that time, the Guardian Angels grew from just 13 members to 1,000 members.
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Now, the Guardian Angels has around 150 members.
The Guardian Angels plans to focus on performing wellness checks on homeless individuals and people with mental health issues. The group will give water to people in need and report any problems to New York City Police.
“We’ll obviously make sure that that train is stopped and that the police respond and that we keep order in the car, so that nobody gets hurt, including the emotionally disturbed person or the homeless person,” Sliwa told the New York Post.
The Guardian Angels reportedly last patrolled the subway cars in New York City during 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, members of the Asian community were experiencing targeted attacks.
The woman set on fire last week remains unidentified. Police say a man they’ve identified as Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, who is from Guatemala and was living illegally in New York, committed the act. They said he lit her on fire while she slept in a subway car.
Police later arrested and charged Zapeta-Calil in connection with the murder of the woman.
Some bystanders filmed the woman while she burned alive but no one got involved.
Sliwa said the lack of action from bystanders during the incident is one of the factors motivating the Guardian Angels to make a return.
Sliwa blames citizen inaction on the so-called “Daniel Penny Effect.”
“Unfortunately, the ‘Daniel Penny Effect’ has frozen them,” Sliwa told the New York Post. “They’re not going to get involved. I’ve seen grown men who normally might have gotten involved. They’re just not getting involved any longer.”
Sliwa claims another issue is the lack of law enforcement patrolling the subway.
A representative for New York City Mayor Eric Adams struck back at Sliwa’s remarks.
The spokesperson called Sliwa’s announced plans “meaningless stunts” and said the city “remains focused on real solutions.”
The mayor’s office notes that New York City is deploying “1,000 police officers per day to subways.” However, the office acknowledged that even with these steps, “there’s still more work to be done.”
Guardian Angels members are no strangers to criticism.
Earlier this year, New York authorities investigated a confrontation between the group and a man. The Guardian Angels wrongly accused him of illegally living in the country. The group said he was caught shoplifting during a live interview.
It later turned out the man roughed up by the Guardian Angels was from the Bronx. There was no evidence to support allegations of shoplifting.
