Guardian Angels
celebrate their start
in our borough
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
The Guardian Angels celebrated
the completion of four
decades of fi ghting crime with
a reunion near where it all began
in the Bronx.
Members of the original 13
Guardian Angels, the group
that formed safety patrols in
the city and later throughout
the world, celebrated on Sunday,
February 10 their 40th anniversary
at a McDonalds on
Southern Boulevard and Fordham
Road, near the spot where
they were founded in 1979.
Known for their red berets
and jackets, members of the
group known originally as the
‘Magnifi cent 13’ gathered at another
McDonalds’ restaurant
not far from the one were it all
started: at East Fordham Road
near Webster Avenue, where
founder Curtis Sliwa worked as
a night manager.
The Angels received proclamations
from Borough
President Ruben Diaz Jr. and
Councilman Ritchie Torres
recognizing their important
contributions.
The current owner of the
McDonalds where Sliwa and
many of the founding members
worked, Tony Rodriguez,
hailed the Guardian Angels
and wished them safety, peace
and good health.
“I am extremely proud to
host and celebrate the 40th Anniversary
of Curtis Sliwa and
the Guardian Angels at the
roots of where the original 13
members fi rst started: at Mc-
Donald’s,” said Rodriguez.
“Congratulations to the Guardian
Angels and thank you for
all that you have done and continue
to do for the betterment of
our community.”
At the event, Sliwa recalled
how the organization got its
start.
“We started with the Golden
Arches, we expand to wherever
the Golden Arches exists, and
we will continue to perpetuate
and franchise ourselves to
people who dare to care,” said
Sliwa on February 10.
He added: “There was hopelessness
and total despair in the
1970s. The golden arches provided
a sanctuary.”
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, F 22 EBRUARY 22-28, 2019 BTR
Curtis Sliwa is pictured in a recent photo stamding in a subway car like
those the Guardian Angels made their reputation patrolling.
Photo courtesy of Guardian Angels
The group would sit in the
restaurant’s ‘crew room’ and
plot out their patrols, he recalled.
The patrols grew from the
cleanup crew known as the
‘Rock Brigade’ that volunteered
to clean community streets in
the early morning hours after
the restaurant closed.
In a city caught in a fi nancial
crisis, with cutbacks to police,
fi re and social workers,
Sliwa said, such volunteerism
was badly needed.
The group moved to patrolling
the IRT #4 subway, which
some police referred to in
1979 as the ‘muggers express,’
and then took on the moniker
‘Guardian Angels.’
Gangs often dominated
trains, and Sliwa had the vision
to use teamwork to combat
the miscreants, said Don Chin,
who fi rst hired Sliwa at McDonalds
and is one of the original 13
present at the occasion.
“You have to really give
them kudos,” said Chin. “These
were young kids about 17- or
18-years-old willing to volunteer
their time and try someone
new.”
People in the early train patrols
did not get overly physical,
but often the Angels presence
was enough to deter muggings,
said Chin.
The Guardian Angels also
empowered their members to
learn self-defense to raise their
self-esteem, said Chin.
“It was a way to lift people
up and have them do something
positive,” said Chin.
Among the original members
who attended, according to
an event organizer, were Sliwa,
Chin, William Bohnenberger,
Eddie Brown, Anthony Ng,
Tom McArdle, Arnaldo Salinas,
Dominic Serra, Tommy Kijewski,
George Mole and Dennis
‘Superstretch’ Torres.
There are over 138 Guardian
Angels chapters, boasting
approximately 5,000 members,
patrolling the streets of 13 countries
today.
The original members in their debut news story about the founding of their organization and their patrol of the
IRT #4 train, what some cops referred to in 1979 as the ‘muggers express.’ Photo courtesy of Guardian Angels
An undated photo provided by Curtis Sliwa shows the Angels in the early years. Photo courtesy of Guardian Angels