Mother of baby abandoned at Penn Station subway stop charged with endangering child
NEW YORK (AP) — Mother of a child abandoned newborn girl He was arrested early Wednesday with his umbilical cord still attached at a busy subway station in midtown Manhattan, city police said.
The 30-year-old Queens woman was taken into custody shortly before 3 a.m. and charged with abandoning and endangering a child. He was expected to appear in court later Wednesday.
The baby was left in a passageway at the 34th Street-Penn Station subway stop during the morning rush hour on Monday. The subway stop is connected to the larger Penn Station complex, the nation’s busiest rail hub located beneath the Madison Square Garden arena.
The arrest came after police on Tuesday images of women were published He was wanted for questioning about what happened to the child in order to determine his identity. The woman was captured in a 2-second security camera video clip on a busy city sidewalk carrying what appeared to be wrapped in a bundle and holding it as if someone were holding a baby.
Police said the baby was found unattended and wrapped in a blanket. It was learned that the condition of the woman, who was taken to the hospital for evaluation, was stable. Police were called to the scene upon the notice that an unidentified person had left the baby at the station.
It was not immediately clear whether the woman had a lawyer who could respond to the allegations. A phone number listed for his home was out of service Wednesday.
A team from the city’s Administration for Children’s Services “has been assigned to ensure the baby’s ongoing well-being,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“I call it ‘Miracle on 34th Street,'” Demetrius Crichlow, president of New York City Transit, told reporters Monday, referring to the classic Christmas movie.
There is a law in New York that came into force in 2000; This law allows a parent to drop off their newborn baby up to 30 days of age at a hospital, staffed police or fire station without fear of prosecution. Under the state’s Safe Haven law, the parent must immediately notify an appropriate person of the baby’s location.
Liyan Bao, senior vice president of child welfare at The New York Foundling, one of the city’s oldest child welfare institutions, said the babies were left at the door of the institution 150 years ago. But today, support is available for New York parents, like a new respite program launched this summer for parents facing a crisis.
“Services are available,” he said. “And I encourage families who truly need it to get in touch.”
