Baby saved from Four Story Fall by Bouncy Balls in Backyard

A 1-year-old girl fell four stories from her Queens apartment last night - and miraculously survived when she bounced off two balls left in a backyard stairwell.

Cindy Riveros tumbled at 6:03 p.m. from the third-story bedroom window of 134-36 57th St. in Flushing.

A neighbor told The Post the child fell one story below ground level, onto a landing in the back yard that leads to the basement - and where a couple of big, soft rubber balls had been left.

The balls appeared to have broken or cushioned little Cindy's fall, the neighbor said.

"[The fall] made a big noise, and I saw a lot of blood in the back," said Fernando Cabarcos, 42. "Everybody was crying."

There were no guards on the window, police said. . . . There were differing accounts from neighbors as to whether the landlord had ever put up guards in the apartment's windows, or whether the family had removed them.

Better be the latter, or the landlord is in VERY expensive legal trouble.

Where’s the personal responsiblity: I believe God protected this baby, however even if the landlord had put up “no guards in the appartment window”..it’s not his or her fault that the parents were idiots.

Should not be sued.

Since when do we live in such a nanny state that a landlord has to protect his tennants from themselves?

I’m just noting the facts of NYC law. Every rental apartment in NYC must be mailed a form annually by the landlord, inquiring whether the apartment has window guards and whether there are any children under age 10. The landlord has to get these forms back from the resident and keep them on file (and the city will send out Health Department agents, if necessary, to deal with tenants who don’t return the forms or who refuse to let the landlord install guards). There is no option to refuse installation of window guards if a child under 10 lives in the apartment.

It may be a “nanny state” program, but it was put in place because children were falling out of NYC windows at a rate of about 150 a year. Obviously plenty of parents were in need of nannying, and the rest either already had window guards or welcomed the city’s new program to force landlords to install them. In a vertical city like NYC, it’s really necessary, and as with rental housing everywhere, tenants are not free to make their own installations, so it has to be a requirement for landlords.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.