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Guarding Greenport - Guardian Angels Summoned to Greenport
Mayor David Kapell, looking to address a decades-long problem of criminal activity in the Village of Greenport, recently invited the Guardian Angels to this picturesque community in an effort to improve the quality of life for its residents, visitors and, most importantly, its young people.
Recently, Guardian Angels Founder and WABC radio personality Curtis Sliwa, joined the Greenport Village Board of Trustees for a community meeting in which hundreds came out to discuss the Guardian Angels program. Although met with resistance from some, many were willing to consider the idea and everyone agreed to give it a shot.
On Thursday, July 28, 2005, Sliwa visited the Village of Greenport once again, this time with Guardian Angels volunteers from New York City. They invited the community on a routine patrol, answered questions, talked to residents and gave everyone a little more insight into what the Guardian Angels could do for the village.
Guardian Angels founder, Curtis Sliwa, talks to residents during a routine patrol of the Village of Greenport. He notes that a local volunteer Guardian Angels chapter would work in conjunction with local police and, often, just the presence of a Guardian Angels patrol can curb criminal activity.
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Curtis Sliwa and his fellow Guardian Angels approached many residents on the streets of Greenport during Thursday's patrol. Much of their work, one Guardian Angel noted, involves mentoring the young people of the community in an effort to steer them away from criminal behavior.
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One resident noted that, after this most recent Guardian Angel visit, it will be impossible for the naysayer to deny that there is a drug problem in the Village of Greenport. Flanked by reporters, Curtis Sliwa, Greenport Village Trustee Ben Burns and another Guardian Angel volunteer inspect more than a dozen drug baggies found near a local basketball court where young children often play.
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The Guardian Angel patrol even found an open knife on a well-traveled village street.
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For weeks, Mayor David Kapell and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa have insisted that the Village of Greenport remains a safe and beautiful community. However, small pockets of criminal behavior, particularly drug use, have plagued the community for decades. While some have feared that the new light that has been shed upon this criminal behavior may be detrimental to the village's image, the Guardian Angel chapter is meant to quell the problem before it gets out of hand.
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