A Bronx woman has been charged after allegedly abandoning a newborn baby girl on a doorstep in Longwood early Sunday morning.
Delfina Galvez, 26, faces charges of reckless endangerment in the first degree, abandonment of a child, and acting in a manner injurious to a child, according to police.
Surveillance footage shows Galvez walking down Rev. James A. Polite Avenue carrying a green tote bag containing the infant, who was wrapped in sheets. Authorities say she left the baby outside a residence at 1102 Rev. James A. Polite Ave. around 6:05 a.m.
Residents of the home discovered the baby shortly afterward and alerted police. The newborn was transported to NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, where she remains in stable condition under the care of hospital staff.
Fatou Sarr, who lives in the building, described her shock upon learning about the abandoned infant. “I was scared. I never hear that in my life,” she said, adding that she went outside for a walk that morning and found police at her door. Sarr said she never saw the baby herself and had no idea why someone chose her building.
Under New York State’s Abandoned Infant Protection Act, parents may surrender a newborn up to 30 days old without facing charges if the baby is left safely at a designated location such as a hospital, police station, or firehouse. Authorities say Galvez, who lives at 1038 Rev James A Polite Ave., failed to use these options, placing the baby’s life at risk.
Galvez’s arrest followed a public search after police released the surveillance footage.
