Tag new york initative

Originally posted: http://gothamist.com/2011/05/12/real-life_superheroes_now_patrollin.php
By Ben Yakas

Between the NY Press cover story last year, the documentary Superheroes and the book, “Heroes in the Night: Inside the Real Life Superhero Movement,” the group of real-life superheroes known as the New York Initiative have been getting a lot of press lately. Though we have yet to see them in person ourselves, the BBC followed them around recently on one of their missions, and it sounded mighty…real: “Tonight, NYI members are patrolling the notorious South Bronx projects, looking for troublemakers and their victims.”
The group, which includes costumed members Zero, Short Cut, Samaritan Prime, Battlestar, Nitro and Deaths Head, arm themselves with weapons (including a long metal torch that can be used as a club), and they have “martial arts trainers and practitioners on the team.” They gave the BBC an idea of the kinds of cases they’ve handled: We find drunks fighting out, domestic abuse, a robbery, anything like that…I stopped a rape once. A couple of guys were taking a drunk girl home with them. They were talking about all the stuff they were going to do to her. I came up and I told them to get away from her,” said Deaths Head Moth.
The BBC seem kind of clueless about their origins—they say at one point, “Crime fighting Hollywood film Kick-Ass is based on them,” which is not true, seeing as how the movie is based on the comic series…but perhaps they meant that the real-life superheroes were inspired by the film. The Brooklyn-based group released a statement on intent on Craigslist late last year, in which they vowed to protect sex workers from the Long Island Serial Killer, but on their regularly-updated Facebook page, they say that they’ve also been patrolling the West Village for muggers.
The group has called their exploits like “a community block watch or safety patrol,” but police haven’t been as supportive of their antics: “Block watch? Naw, fuhgetabout that. You’ll get shot. The guys in this neighborhood, they’ll shoot you and no one will tell us who did it. There’s a strong ‘no snitching’ rule out here,” one officer told NY Press. At least none of them are dressed up like Batman:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKv3b9Oi4xA

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/cas/2329212396.html

To all Ladies: Free Protection and Safety System, (Long Island Killer) – m4w – 29 (NYC)

Hello, pretty lady!
I’m writing you on behalf of a group called the New York Initiative (We are not affiliated with law enforcement), and with the hopes that I’ve created a system that will help keep you safe when you go on dates! You can find our facebook page through Google, as well as Google us with the words New York Press or Superheroes Documentary 2011 to find out what we’re about (Craigslist doesn’t allow me to post our URL)…yes, we look a little funny, but believe me when I say that we are all quite competent and capable of doing the things we say.
So with that out of the way, let me just get down to business… The Long Island Killer is out there. He’s a scary bastard, and it’s starting to seem like he is focusing on you pretty ladies because some people are slower to report you missing, and also because apparently the law doesn’t respect your personal choices and that means cops are slower to follow through when it comes to you. Well, I’m here to say FUCK THAT. We respect you as human beings, we believe in personal freedoms and think that you’re doing something that is absolutely your choice to do.
So rock on, ladies…We are on your side. With that said, we are here to help.
In lieu of this, I have devised two systems that will keep you safe… both law-enforcement free, but one meant specifically for you to do on your own, with a friend, and the other which offers our very distinct and unusual services (free of charge, of course).
OPTION 1: Whenever you have a date, make sure a friend knows the address you’re going. Have them write it down in a book made specifically for this purpose, with the times and dates included. If you can, when on the date, text your friend with the address you are at or the general area in case your date takes you somewhere else than he had earlier specified , and let your date know that a friend knows exactly where you’ll be if he starts to get “funny”.
Give your friend hourly updates on your location so if anything goes wrong, they can send someone to help you faster. We realize that this could alter the mood of your date, but in these crazy times, a pretty lady that’s ready is a pretty lady that’s alive. If your date watches the news at all, he will understand. Be wary if he doesn’t.
OPTION 2.If you absolutely don’t have a friend to help you with this, you may use the services of the New York Initiative as your personal log book, as well as your rescue team in the event of an emergency. If you choose to do this, we will provide you with a number to call and a few one-number or one word codes you can say or text to us so that we can contact someone to assist you with a possibly violent date. Another idea is keeping us on speed dial, and if things get weird just call us and let the line open. We’ll know what’s going on immediately.
We also have other techniques which we can explain to you after confirmation via phone.
We will react quickly and without hesitation every time, using our considerable contacts to the full extent of their reach.
We also want to extend to you our services as the NYI: Namely, practical martial arts training free of charge, as well as improvised weapons training free of charge (i.e. pens, phones, keys)…Add to this basic to advanced survival skills, or pretty much anything else you want to know about that will keep you safe out there.
We care about you. We want you alive, in this world, just like everyone else. Because you’re a human being, and you are deserving of love. The NYI loves you, and we’re here to bust the asses of any asshole trying to hurt you.
This is just one of the ways we can get the Long Island Killer off the streets, as well as make what you do safer.
Let me say one more time that we won’t involve law enforcement unless you are in serious danger. The logs will be kept personal and private, because what do the police need to know about your personal life, right? It’s just a date, for cryin’ out loud.
Be safe out there, whatever you choose. You are no longer alone.
-Zero and the New York Initiative
P.S. If you have any other ideas that we can help with to keep you safe out there, don’t be afraid to ask!
You can contact the New York Initiative at [email protected]
and on facebook www.facebook.com/NYInitiative
 

Originally posted: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/real-life-superheroes-gear-up-with-ninja-throwing-stars-ax-handles-stun-knuckles/
Real Life Superheroes Gear Up With Ninja Throwing Stars, Ax Handles, ‘Stun Knuckles’
By Spencer Ackerman
Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/real-life-superheroes-gear-up-with-ninja-throwing-stars-ax-handles-stun-knuckles/#ixzz0tuSJuC19
Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. asked a simple question in their 2008 comic book (and 2010 movie) Kick-Ass: Why don’t fanboys actually suit up and try their hand at being superheroes? As it turns out, a bunch of fanboys are in fact suiting up. Hundreds of them. Face front, true believer.
Cosplay is nothing new. Its variant, Real Life Superheroes, are somewhat next-level. Check out TheRLSH.net, a message board where aspiring supes — costumed adventurers who describe themselves as doing “humanitarian work” or otherwise generically helping those in distress — can discuss tradecraft, assemble into makeshift Avengers and escalate misunderstandings into internet brawls ahead of the inevitable team-up.
Seriously. On this thread, for instance, a crimefighter called the Dark Ghost rallied his fellow champions of the innocent to find a seven-month old baby kidnapped in Tennessee. Amazonia, the Minuteman, Gadgetastic and the Sparrow pledged support. (As it turned out, the vigilante community didn’t need to get involved, as law enforcement found young Drake Boyd’s abductor in Florida.)
Now, obviously these dudes don’t have superpowers. But come on — neither does Batman. So like Batman, what they lack in meta-human ability, they make up for in weaponry.
Take, for instance, a Brooklyn team called the New York Initiative, profiled this week in New York Press. The four members of the Initiative –a reference to Tony Stark’s post-Civil War, pre-Secret Invasion efforts to put a superhero squad in each of the 50 states? — act like bodybuilders with a purpose. And then they pack (non-lethal) heat.
Initiative member Z brandishes “giant ax handles bound with duck tape” and a cane that doubles as a club. He’s also got — in reserve — a legally dubious arsenal that includes ninja throwing stars and what author Tea Krulos describes as “stun knuckles (that make a loud zapping sound), throwing knives and spiky hand guards that look like something Genghis Khan would brawl in.” A battle ax appears to be merely for display.
The team’s gadget whiz, who goes by the unfortunate name Victim, is testing out some polycarbonate squares for durability against knives. Because being a hero means you’re going to get stabbed.
Factoring out the body armor, it appears to be a fairly cost-effective approach to adventuring. Take Z’s stun knuckles. Zapping someone with 950,000 volts in the course of a single punch should run you around $50.
Plus, that is, whatever legal costs you incur after your supervillain sues you. Chances are your local municipality doesn’t look kindly on vigilantism, and less so on vigilantism armed with zappers. What’s more, courts haven’t been so keen on police use of non-lethal weapons like Tasers, and you’re sure not an officer of the law.
Speaking of the cops: According to Krulos’s piece, when the New York Initiative asks the police if they can set up a patrol by downtown Brooklyn’s Fulton Mall, a member of New York’s finest tells them, “Naw, fuhgetabout that. You’ll get shot. The guys in this neighborhood, they’ll shoot you and no one will tell us who did it. There’s a strong ‘no snitching’ rule out here.” We know that in the comics as honor among thieves.
So, be careful out there, champions of right: Come strapped and stay on the right side of the law.