Back in 1987, the Guardian Angels short-lived Twin Cities chapter “closed down” the Cecil Newman housing project in North Minneapolis – basically blockading it from criminals, keeping everyone out but the residents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Legal? No less so than the CHAZ in south Minneapolis today is. Make of that what you will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Needed. Pffft, yeah. Newman was a hotbed of drug dealing and crime, as the Twin Cities first wave of gang violence was just getting started, still years before “Murderapolis”. .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was producing the “Geoff Charles Show” at the time. As we covered the story on day, Geoff said – one of the clear blue, live on the air, as he was wont to do, “Get me Curt Sliwa”, the fouorn2run<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I called the Guardian Angels in New York. “He’s in Minneapolis”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I called the Guardian Angels at their Minneapolis number. “He’s at Cecil Newman”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I called Cecil Newman. The phone rang a couple times. A New York accent said “Hello”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m looking for Curt Sliwa”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Tha’ts me”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was one of my favorite moments of that part of my career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
34 years later, he’s got the GOP endorsement for Mayor of New York. And he’s talking sense:<\/p>\n\n\n\n