Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, arrived from New York. Three members of the Angels came from Washington. And half a dozen drove from Baltimore to jump-start a Guardian Angels chapter in Edgewood.

The only people missing were the Edgewood residents.

Although 400 fliers were distributed for the meeting to drum up support for the volunteer community safety organization, attendance was lackluster.

There were more Angels, clad in their unmistakable red satin jackets and berets, than community members at the Monday meeting at the Village of Lakeview community, a 233-unit subsidized housing complex.

Some people came into the meeting, piled buffalo wings and ham sandwiches onto their plates and left while speakers were midway through their presentation.

Marcus Dent, the commander of the Baltimore chapter of the Guardian Angels, couldn't hide his disappointment.

"It's expected," he said. "A lot of people don't come out when a lot of things aren't going wrong. When things are wrong, that's when people come out."

In previous Edgewood meetings, the Guardian Angels have attracted large audiences. But many of those meetings occurred after a violent crime. The last homicide in Edgewood occurred nearly three months ago.

Harford County Sheriff L. Jesse Bane said he worries it's "a calm before the storm."

Community participation "ebbs and flows," Sliwa said.

"If there was just a drive-by where five people were shot last night, you would have people packed here because of the immediacy," he said. "You must be consistent at the time of crisis and peace and constantly work toward prevention."

Sliwa, of Brooklyn, N.Y., started the Guardian Angels in the 1970s with volunteers who patrolled a New York City subway line.

The Angels were viewed with skepticism and were often at odds with the police. Sliwa admitted faking several incidents in the 1980s to publicize the group.

In 1992, he was seriously injured in an assassination attempt and testified several times against Gambino crime family boss John A. Gotti, who prosecutors said ordered the shooting, according to news reports.

Sliwa now hosts a talk radio show in New York called Morning Drive.

The Guardian Angels organization has survived rough patches but now has 106 chapters in 12 countries.

In 2006, Sliwa made his first visit to Harford County, when he was invited by County Councilman Dion Guthrie, who represents Joppa and Edgewood. Sliwa recalled seeing "cows and forests and pastures" as he was taken to the Edgewood Library.

An armed guard stood near the doorway at the library, Sliwa said. Teenagers piled around computers, logging onto MySpace pages filled with gang signs.

"I never saw so many kids at a library," Sliwa said. "I realized why they were there. They were dissing and dismissing young people somewhere else, using computers, instant messaging or cell phones. They were bullying in cyberspace. They were taking advantage of the free technology.

"The times have changed," he said.

The Guardian Angels organization has evolved, with a spin-off group, the Cyber Angels, which teaches Internet safety. The organization has a classroom management program for teachers in tough environments and a mini-Guardian Angels program for children.

During Sliwa's visit in 2006, Guthrie said the Angels walked through Edgewood and the response was overwhelming, as children came out of their houses, motorists honked their horns in support and residents thanked them.

"I was amazed at the magnetism," he said.

A possible reason for the lack of interest in the meeting, Guthrie said, is the fear of retaliation.

"The theory is that people are scared. The truth is when they're out there in groups of four, five or six, the bad guys start walking in the other direction," he said.

Locally, the Angels say they hope to start going to Harford schools to talk about the dangers of gangs and drugs.

Dent said that volunteers from the Baltimore chapter will walk foot patrols around Edgewood.

"We're going to drop in and do sporadic walks and in the interim start training people who are interested," he said.

When volunteers spot trouble, they call for help. They also provide training in leadership, emergency first aid and self-defense, Dent said. Their presence is meant to be a crime deterrence, but he said, "It's hard to keep a presence with a handful of Angels."

Kim Dallas, one of the residents who attended the meeting, said, "Some people don't want to get involved until they see the final product."

madison.park@baltsun.com