{"id":2968,"date":"2010-03-23T21:04:46","date_gmt":"2010-03-24T05:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reallifesuperheroes.org\/?p=2968"},"modified":"2010-03-23T21:04:46","modified_gmt":"2010-03-24T05:04:46","slug":"superheroes-anonymous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/2010\/03\/23\/superheroes-anonymous\/","title":{"rendered":"Superheroes Anonymous"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Photography<\/a>

Photography by Beth Levendis<\/p><\/div>
\nOriginally published- http:\/\/newyork.timeout.com\/articles\/own-this-city\/83992\/cause-of-the-week-superheroes-anonymous<\/a>It’s a bird… it’s a plane… it’s people in makeshift superhero costumes, helping the homeless. Join them on Thursday 25. <\/strong>
\nBy Will Sabel Courtney<\/strong>
\nYou don\u2019t need to crawl up the Empire State Building<\/a> in a red and blue leotard to be a superhero. All it takes is a desire to make the world a better place\u2014although some conspicuous costumes certainly helps. Friends Ben Goldman, 23, and Chaim Lazaros, 25, cofounded the organization Superheroes Anonymous in 2007, back when they were just two film students making a documentary about Real-Life Superheroes, a community of unusually attired do-gooders. But after seeing the heroes in action, the dynamic duo wanted to do more than observe\u2014they wanted to join them. Concealing their faces behind domino masks, they became Cameraman and Life.
\nSA\u2019s embellished guardians tackle problems more suited to the uninvulnerable: They patrol neighborhoods like Harlem, organize toy drives for St. Mary\u2019s Hospital for Children and assist New York City\u2019s vast homeless community. In fact, homeless outreach is one of the primary missions of Superheroes Anonymous. \u201cWhat crime is to Gotham City,\u201d Goldman says, \u201chomelessness is to New York City.\u201d Every week, usually under cover of darkness (they attend to their civilian lives during the day), the heroes take to the streets, dispensing food, clothes and sundries to the less fortunate\u2014who are almost always grateful for the help, despite its unusual source.
\nWhile SA has more than 100 members across the country, only five live in New York City. The group is hoping to add new crusaders to its guild, especially women\u2014the NYC chapter currently has only one superheroine. Starting Thursday 25, SA will hold monthly meetings open to both regulars and newbs, at which prospective champions of justice will get a crash-course in street outreach, and eventually learn SA\u2019s 12 Steps to Superheroism (No. 2: choosing to become a force for good; No. 8: picking a superhero name), participate in self-defense clinics taught by fellow hero\/martial-arts instructor Dark Guardian and learn other valuable superheroic skills, like how to design costumes. According to Goldman, dressing up emboldens people who might otherwise lack the courage to act. For some, like Cameraman, a simple cape and mask thrown over an SA tee suffices; Dark Guardian reaches for red-and-black motorcycle leather; while Life prefers skinny jeans paired with a military-style jacket.
\nBut would-be watchmen inspired by movies, such as the forthcoming action-comedy Kick-Ass<\/em>, should be warned: Beating up criminals is far less glamorous than Hollywood makes it look. Dark Guardian, also known as 25-year-old Chris Pollak, is one of the few members of SA who confronts New York City\u2019s baddies. With vital organs safe behind a bulletproof vest, Pollak faces off with drug dealers in places like Washington Square Park, asking them to cease and desist. \u201cI\u2019ve done some dangerous things,\u201d he says with a laugh, recalling an incident in which a pusher pulled a gun on him. Beyond the Kevlar underwear, Dark Guardian takes further precautions: \u201c[Pollak] will only do something if I\u2019m there with a camera,\u201d Goldman says, referring to the camcorder he wields for justice like Green Lantern\u2019s ring. \u201cTo deter [criminals] from doing anything bad, and to provide evidence for the police.\u201d In turn, Goldman posts his videos of fellow heroes in action on Vimeo (vimeo.com\/user277676<\/a>)<\/em>.
\nUltimately, Superheroes Anonymous isn\u2019t interested in beating people up; they put on capes and cowls to help those in need. \u201cIt\u2019s about doing the most good possible,\u201d Lazaros says. \u201cYou can do exponentially more good when you\u2019re getting noticed for it.\u201d
\nBECOME A HERO!<\/strong> Superheroes Anonymous holds its first monthly meeting Thu 25 at Think Coffee<\/a>, 248 Mercer St between 3rd and 4th Sts. (superheroesanonymous.com<\/a>). 7\u20138pm, free. Costumes not required but strongly encouraged, no matter how minimal. R.S.V.P. to ben@superheroesanonymous.com<\/a>.
\nSee more Cause of the week<\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally published- http:\/\/newyork.timeout.com\/articles\/own-this-city\/83992\/cause-of-the-week-superheroes-anonymousIt’s a bird… it’s a plane… it’s people in makeshift superhero costumes, helping the homeless. Join them on Thursday 25. By Will Sabel Courtney You don\u2019t need to crawl up the Empire State Building in a red and blue leotard to be a superhero. All it takes is a desire to make the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[289,427,490,690,845,1060,1508,1840,1841,2181,2548,2556,2712,2894],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2968"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}