Keeping Downtown Safe with a Smile

Victor Garcia says his job is the perfect fit. As a security guard on Alliance for Downtown New York’s public safety conditions team, his work has a big impact on the neighborhood.

“These guys really do something good for the community,” Garcia said. “We help the homeless, people who have mental issues and we keep the streets clean in lower Manhattan.”

His work often involves more than security. Just a few weeks ago he stopped a special needs child who ran away from school before crossing into high-speed traffic. And during his second month on the job, he helped a family find their lost child.

“I’m a father, so I used my instincts to figure out where the kid is,” Garcia explained. Within two blocks, he found the 5-year-old at a nearby playground. “The mom was crying and the father was crying, and I was very happy that the kid got back okay.”

His work has been dangerous at times. When a man slashed a woman in the face with a razor near his workplace, Garcia sprang into action: “It was very bad but I chased the guy and caught him, and he’s in jail now.”

Before taking on security, Garcia worked several positions including as a dishwasher, porter, and prep cook. However, he loves this job because he is on the ground helping people.

On an average day, Garcia helps tourists find their way through the neighborhood, using his Spanish skills to communicate with those who don’t speak English.

When he was a teenager in Costa Rica, Garcia helped build houses for the homeless. He didn’t make any money doing it, but the work was fulfilling. “It was not for what I could get back because I didn’t get back anything,” he said. “It made me feel happy.”

He is hopeful that his work helping others will bring good karma back to his family when they need it most.

“I’ve got a mother and I’ve got a daughter,” he said. “I would love in the future when I’m not around, if they need something, someone can kindly help them.”

He credits his mannerisms to his parents who “were very strict and tough, but always fair”.

While he grew up poor in Costa Rica, he had many hobbies including surfing and kayaking. However, he decided that he wanted more for himself, and that it was up to him to to flip the script.

Before coming to the United States, Garcia lived in Nicaragua, Mexico, Spain and Amsterdam before arriving in New York City, where he has lived for the past 17 years.

“I have to be honest with you, there is no country like the U.S.,” said Garcia. “Here, life is way better in many different ways.”

After years of hopping from one job to another, Garcia believes he’s here to stay at the Alliance.

“I don’t see myself doing anything other than this because I finally got a job that I feel happy with,” he explains. “I wake up sometimes and I want to go to work and I never felt this before.”