A Quarter Century Guarding Midtown

When he first got the call about his Keeper of the City Award, Mark Galon thought the voice message congratulating him was meant for someone else.

Robert Byrnes, President of East Midtown Partnership knew better. He spoke of the “quiet heroism” the humble Allied Security guard embodies.

For the past 25 years, Galon has been the eyes and ears of Midtown Manhattan and an ambassador for the area.

As the security supervisor for the East Midtown Partnership, Galon and his team of seven security guards are responsible for quality of life concerns affecting 47 blocks in Midtown Manhattan. When a traffic light goes out, Galon notifies the Department of Transportation. When trash spills out of the bin and onto the sidewalk, Galon reaches out to the Department of Sanitation. When a homeless individual is in need of social services, Galon calls the homeless nonprofit organization BRC. If there’s an increase in rodent activity, Galon submits a report. If there’s unwanted graffiti on the side of a business, Galon calls a cleaning vendor to remove it.

On more than one occasion, he has hailed a taxi for a pregnant woman and helped an elderly person who fell while crossing the street.

The 47 blocks that the East Midtown Partnership covers includes 800 ground floor and 3,000 upper floor businesses. Banks, restaurants, retail businesses, and hotels are all represented. Bloomingdale´s, Bloomberg News, The Four Seasons, Wells Fargo, and Insomnia Cookies are just some of the businesses he protects. Approximately 17,000 people live and 12,000 people work there. Adding tourists and shoppers to that number means that 30,000 people pass through this area on any given day.

In the more than two decades that Galon has been on the job, he’s become a familiar, friendly face among business owners. Merchants know he is the person to talk to if they want to participate in one of the many East Midtown Partnership holiday celebrations. The most recent was for Halloween. This Halloween more than seventy-five businesses distributed candy to children. More than 8,000 people participated in the festivities that evening safely, thanks in part to the efforts of Galon and his team.

Galon works outside in all kinds of weather: scorching summer heat waves and frigid winter blizzards. Natural disasters, parades, protests, a global pandemic — Galon has experienced it all. He went to work during Hurricane Sandy, COVID-19, and the protests over the murder of George Floyd.

Considering all that he’s seen and experienced, we asked what advice he has for fellow New Yorkers. He replied, “Be patient,” “Don’t call names,” and “Honor one another.”

“If you have conversation, if you don’t agree (in) your belief, don’t think that they are worse than you or that you are better than them.”

And lastly, “For me, if I have nothing good to say, I keep my mouth shut.” Good advice.