| Matter of Keyevon Justice P. (Lativia Denice P.) |
| 2011 NY Slip Op 08971 [90 AD3d 477] |
| Dcmbr 13, 2011 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| In the Matter of Keyevon Justice P. and Others, Children Alleged tobe Abandoned. Lativia Denice P., Appellant; Graham-Windham Services to Families andChildren, Respondent. |
—[*1] Carrieri & Carrieri, P.C., Mineola (Ralph R. Carrieri of counsel), for respondent. Tamara A. Steckler, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Rhonda J. Panken of counsel),attorney for the children.
Orders of disposition, Family Court, New York County (Jody Adams, J.), entered on or aboutOctober 29, 2010 and November 1, 2010, which, upon findings of abandonment, terminatedrespondent mother's parental rights to the subject children and transferred custody andguardianship of the children to petitioner agency and the Commissioner of Social Services for thepurpose of adoption, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Clear and convincing evidence shows, among other things, that respondent had no contactwith the children for two years before the filing of the petition. Under the circumstances, FamilyCourt providently exercised its discretion in denying respondent's request for a dispositionalhearing after the finding of abandonment (see Matter of "Male" G., 30 AD3d 337, 338 [2006], lvdenied 7 NY3d 711 [2006]). Respondent's belated argument that she is engaged in servicesand has an alternative plan for the children is unavailing.
Family Court properly denied the maternal grandmother's custody petition. The children[*2]had not expressed a desire to see the mother's side of thefamily, and the grandmother has no preemptive statutory or constitutional right to custody(Matter of Peter L., 59 NY2d 513, 520 [1983]). Concur—Gonzalez, P.J.,Friedman, Moskowitz, Acosta and Richter, JJ.