New York police seek woman for questioning after baby is abandoned at Penn Station subway stop

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NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police on Tuesday released images of a woman wanted for questioning after an infant girl with her umbilical cord still attached was abandoned at a busy midtown Manhattan subway station.

The baby was left Monday in a passageway at the 34th Street-Penn Station subway stop during the typically crowded morning rush hour. The subway stop is attached to the broader Penn Station complex — the country’s busiest rail hub, which sits underneath the Madison Square Garden arena.

Authorities are asking for the public's help in identifying the woman, who is seen on a 2-second security camera video clip on a city sidewalk carrying something that appears to be wrapped in a bundle and holding it like someone would hold a baby. Police are calling it a case of endangering the welfare of a child.

The infant was found unattended and wrapped in a blanket, police said. She was taken to a hospital for an evaluation and listed in stable condition.

A team from the city's Administration for Children's Services was "deployed to ensure the ongoing well-being of the baby,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Police said they received reports that an unidentified person left the baby in the station and fled. Officials cordoned off a section of the passageway and a staircase with yellow tape afterward.

“I’m calling it the ’Miracle on 34th Street,'" Demetrius  Crichlow, president of New York City Transit, told reporters, alluding to the classic Christmas movie.

New York has a law, enacted in 2000, that allows a parent to relinquish a newborn up to 30 days old at a hospital, or staffed police or fire station without fear of being prosecuted. Under the state's Safe Haven law, the parent must promptly notify an appropriate person of the infant’s location.

Liyan Bao, senior vice president for child welfare at The New York Foundling, one of the city's oldest child welfare agencies, said babies used to be left on the agency's doorstep 150 years ago. But today, support is available to New York parents, such as a new short-term respite program launched this summer for the Foundling for parents facing a crisis.

“Services are available,” she said. “And I really would encourage for families in need to reach out.”