He’s a chip off the old beret.
As the founder of the Guardian Angels, Curtis Sliwa has mentored a number of men and women hoping to join its ranks — but his 12-year-old son, Anthony, is his proudest addition yet.
The Guardian Angels — a group of vigilantes famous for patrolling the subways at night in their signature red jackets and berets — were founded in 1979, but have revived their efforts after the spate of subway slashings earlier this year.
And though Anthony — nicknamed “Angel and a half” — suffers from learning disabilities, he excels at fighting crime.
“He’s always had a natural instinct to be an Angel ever since he was little,” said Mary “K.C.” Gethins, 44, who’s been an Angel since 1998.
“I consider him a regular Angel, not a Junior Angel.”
Now a seventh grader at the Child School on Roosevelt Island, Anthony began training to become an Angel at 8 years old, when he spent a year in the Junior Guardian Angels program in Washington Heights.
There, he studied martial arts and how to catch creeps.
Now, he and his dad hit the subway lines together every weekend.
Friday night, Sliwa ushered the Guardian Angels through the packed 59th Street-Columbus Circle Station and stopped at a subway map.
“Anthony, where is our first patrol tonight?” Sliwa barked.
Anthony sprang forward, tracing the blue C line with his finger to the 168th Street station.
“Great job,” Sliwa said, high-fiving Anthony while he beamed with pride. They soon boarded an uptown C train and weaved through the carriages, beginning with the last car.
“It’s where the criminals go,” Sliwa said. “It’s the furthest from an ‘official’ like the conductor, so they think they can torture people more easily.”
Anthony stood confidently in the subway door frame with a stern face and his thumbs hooked into the pockets of his black sweat pants. He leaned in as his father doled out advice.
“If you see something, tell one of us right away,” said Sliwa, readjusting his son’s walkie talkie.
Sliwa believes that being an Angel has helped his son’s speaking disabilities and improved his memorization.
“When he comes out with us, it forces him to interact with the general public and practice talking to people,” said Sliwa, who added that Anthony’s specialty is handing out fliers to straphangers warning of local pervs.
As for Anthony, he’s just excited to be making the subway safer.
“My favorite part is when we catch a criminal,” said Anthony.
“I like the action. It makes me feel like an adult.”
