New York City

Bodyguards on Demand: New Yorker Tests Out Private Security for Hire App

Ever want to feel like a celebrity with your own personal bodyguard to protect you? Now there’s an app for that

NBC Universal, Inc.

Ever want to feel like a celebrity with your own personal bodyguard to protect you? Now there’s an app for that.

Tammy Johnson runs her errands on the Upper West Side with an unusual companion: private security. She's not a celebrity, just an everyday New Yorker - but 2020 has her questioning her personal safety.

"As much as I love my neighborhood, we know that safety is not always at the top," Johnson says. "There has been a rise in the number of homeless folks that are basically throughout the neighborhood where that was not the situation prior and it's a little concerning to me. I'm always out and about and sometimes I'm a little afraid."

Johnson turned to a relatively new app called Bond. The company's creator just last month launched the bodyguard service where clients can hire protection for as little as $30 for 30 minutes.

The program comes as New Yorkers in Johnson's neighborhood say they feel increasingly unsafe as the country braces for a potentially contentious election.

"There's just the perfect storm of the COVID, politics, rise in crime, all those things combined can create a dangerous situation," her bodyguard says.

Johnson's bodyguard is a veteran of the NYPD who spent 20 years with the department's intelligence division.

Safety concerns had businesses in Manhattan taking precautions as well. On Friday, Macy's and other stores in Midtown began boarding up windows ahead of Election Day.

Plywood covered businesses in Midtown Manhattan once again Friday as the city prepares for what lies ahead following the results of the presidential election. Gaby Acevedo reports.
Copyright NBC New York
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