By Sarina Trangle
Police arrested a Hollis mother who allegedly left her 4-year-old alone Sunday morning and returned to find the child had fallen from the fire escape, the NYPD and neighbors said.
Neighbors described seeing a young girl wearing nothing but a white shirt and underwear with a bloody lip on the cement ground near the fire escape of 91-59 191st St.
The NYPD said the toddler was brought from a building near 191st Street and Woodhull Avenue to Long Island Jewish Medical Center with scratches to her legs and chin just before 10 a.m.
Her mother, Yasmine Robert, 34, allegedly left the child unsupervised while doing an errand and came back to find her girl injured, cops said.
The NYPD said she was cuffed and charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child.
The city Administration for Children’s Services is now involved, the NYPD said.
Police said they believe the child fell from a second floor window, but the 103rd Precinct is still investigating.
However, one nearby resident showed the TimesLedger photos of a girl making her way down the red, metal structure from several stories up.
And building staff said they believed the photographed child lived on the fifth floor of 91-59 191st St., which is owned by Zara Realty.
Jason Knight, 51, said he was crossing the street when he saw the crying girl clinging to a gate and calling for her mother.
“She said, ‘I fell out the window,’” said Knight, who lives across the street. “She was out here in her underwear. She had a bloody lip crying.”
Knight called 9-1-1 and said the child’s mother arrived frantic and barefoot once officers were on the scene.
“She said, “I just went to the store to get milk. When I came back, she was gone,’” Knight said. “You’re not supposed to leave no 4-year-old kid at the house by themselves.”
Another neighbor also overheard the mother saying she ran out to do an errand, and later telling officers she left her kid in their second floor home with a friend.
Mervyn Phillip, Zara’s area supervisor, said the company ensures window guards are in place on all windows except for those that lead out to fire escapes. He said the company annually checks window guards while filling out paperwork for the city Housing and Preservation Department and verifies they are still in place when residents move in and out.
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
