Reminder After Woodside Child Found Abandoned
In the wake of news reports that a newborn was found abandoned in the Woodside Houses on Sunday, Aug. 19, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall is reminding residents that they have an option to surrender their infant safely.
Reportedly, the infant girl was found at around 11:30 p.m. Sunday night behind a building at Broadway and 51st Street in Woodside, wrapped in sheets. The child was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center, reportedly in stable condition.
The incident remains under investigation, news reports stated.
Marshall’s office issued a statement on Monday, Aug. 20 regarding the state’s Safe Haven program, which allows a parent to surrender their infant to a police station or firehouse without possibility of prosecution.
“There is no need for someone who may be desperate, in despair or in crisis to abandon their newborn child to the elements,” said Marshall in the statement. “The Safe Haven program allows anyone to surrender their infant to a healthy and safe environment where the baby can be left by the mother if she has to do so.”
The statement also noted that in November 2011, Marshall joined Elmhurst Hospital Center Executive Director Chris Constantino and President Timothy Jaccard of the AMT Children of Hope Foundation in an event at the medical facility to focus attention on the hospital’s designation as a Safe Haven location.
The event took place in the wake of two cases last year involving abandoned infants in the borough.
