Hey, tourists, NYC may want you to spend lots of money when you visit the Big Apple, but just don't get really sick or else the Administration for Children's Services will take your kids in! Because that's what happened to one British family last month!
Yvonne Bray and daughters Gemma and Katie, who live in Devon, England, were visiting New York for four days, staying at the LaGuardia Courtyard Marriott. The mother fell ill with pneumonia, so the hotel manager called 911 and she was taken to Elmhurst Medical Center (which a British paper called "Queens Medical Centre hospital in Harlem"). From The Times (UK) (which also mentioned that the "public hospital in Harlem [is] where most of the other patients were handcuffed to their beds or a police officer") :
Too weak to wave goodbye, their mother was forced to leave Gemma and Katie in the custody of social workers who asked them “do you have any homicidal tendencies?” and “which street gangs do you belong to?”. Gemma, a student at Bideford College, replied: “I am a member of Appledore library.”
The girls found themselves in a municipal orphanage. Their trendy clothes were taken away and they were issued with one-size-fits-all white T-shirts and elasticated jeans. Gemma said: “They looked like prison outfits.”
The sisters had mugshots taken, were given a medical examination and a wash pack and were dispatched to a glass-walled dormitory for 12 to 15-year-old girls. Katie said: “It was like being in a little cage. It was scary as the staff were constantly looking in at us. I tried to go to sleep, but every time I opened my eyes, someone was looking right at me.”
After Yvonne Bray spent a frantic night not knowing where her children were, they were reunited the next day. Gemma Bray added, "We were lucky to be able to leave after just one night. It was scary at first but everyone turned out to be friendly.”
Upon their return, Yvonne Bray received a letter from ACS informing her that they were investigating her for child neglect. ACS told the Daily News, "Children's Services assisted a mother whose children could not remain safe by themselves," and mentioned the mother could expect another letter saying the case was closed. ACS also disputed reports that the girls had been strip searched, "Children's Services assisted a mother whose children could not remain safe by themselves in a country that was strange to them. Our procedures at the Children's Center are respectful of all youth who are brought there."
