A newborn baby girl was found wrapped in a blanket on the floor of a New York City subway station on Monday morning and now an investigation is underway to find out who put her there.
A newborn baby girl was left on the floor of a subway platform in New York City on Monday(Image: CBS News New York)
A newborn baby was left a Manhattan subway station in New York City on Monday, launching an investigation.
Police discovered the baby girl wrapped in a blanket at the bottom of a staircase leading to the 1/2/3 train platform at W 34th Street and 7th avenue just before 9:30 a.m. An anonymous tip led authorities to the child, who was described as conscious and alert with no injuries.
The baby was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. There were no signs of the child’s mother and police are now reviewing surveillance footage from inside the station.
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The girl was in stable condition and appeared unharmed, said police(Image: WABC)
Her umbilical cord was still attached, a source told The New York Times. She was placed on the floor by a water drain inside the passageway, leading to the northbound platform of the 1 train, said investigators.
“I don’t know how someone could do that to a little baby, it’s really sad,” a commuter told CBS News. “It’s really unsanitary, it’s really unsafe to just leave the poor baby out here. I’m glad someone was able to do something about it.”
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Another commuter, who is a new parents of a 16-month-old girl called the incident “insane,” saying, “I can’t imagine the desperation that they must’ve felt to do that….honestly, I’m so sorry to hear that.”
New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow called the child’s safe discovery “the miracle on 34th Street.”
Police are reviewing footage to find the child’s mother(Image: WABC)
“I’m calling it the ‘Miracle on 34th Street,’ the FDNY and police department responded, they found a baby that was unattended,” Crichlow told ABC 7.
“The baby was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition, we don’t have any other additional information on top of that, but just grateful for the work of the NYPD for responding and caring for the baby.”
In New York state, it is a felony to abandon a child under the age of 14. The state’s Abandoned Infant Protection Act allows a parent to abandon a newborn baby up to 30 days of age anonymously, if the child is left in a safe place, such as a fire station, police station, or hospital, and in a safe manner.
“A person leaving an infant under this law is not required to give his or her name,” according to the Office of Children and Family Services.
The law was first enacted in July 2000 “to save the lives of unwanted, newborn infants.” It was amended in August 2010 to provide extra incentives for anyone who is going to abandon a baby to do so in a manner that doesn’t harm the child.
“The amendments provide that parents who abandon their infant in a safe way, as prescribed by the law, will not be held criminally liable,” the office said on their website. The 2010 amendment also increased the time frame in which an infant could be abandoned under the act from five days to 30 days from birth.
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