Opinion
Nos. 2010-01700, (Docket Nos. N-616-08, N-617-08).
March 22, 2011.
In two related child abuse and neglect proceedings pursuant to Family Court Act article 10, Lateek C. appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of a fact-finding order of the Family Court, Kings County (Olshansky, J.), dated January 7, 2010, as, after a hearing, found that he neglected Janiyah T. and derivatively neglected Kamiyah C.
Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel, New York, N.Y. (Fay Ng of counsel; Alyse P. Fiori on the brief), for petitioner-respondent.
Steven Banks, New York, N.Y. (Tamara Steckler and Judith Stern of counsel), attorney for the child.
Before: Skelos, J.P., Dickerson, Austin and Cohen, JJ.
Ordered that the fact-finding order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements.
The Family Court's determination that Lateek C. (hereinafter the appellant) neglected the child Janiyah T. was supported by a preponderance of the evidence. A "neglected child" is defined by the Family Court Act as one "whose physical, mental or emotional condition has been impaired or is in imminent danger of becoming impaired as a result of the failure of [the] parent . . . to exercise a minimum degree of care . . . in providing the child with proper supervision or guardianship" (Family Ct Act § 1012 [f] [i] [B]). The petitioner established, by a preponderance of the evidence ( see Family Ct Act § 1046 [b] [i]), that the appellant's conduct impaired the mental or emotional well-being of Janiyah T., or placed that child in imminent danger of such impairment ( see Family Ct Act § 1012 [f]; Nicholson v Scoppetta, 3 NY3d 357; Matter of Kevin M.H. [Kenneth H], 76 AD3d 1015). Accordingly, the Family Court properly found that the appellant neglected Janiyah T.
Further, the appellant's neglect of Janiyah T. evinced a flawed understanding of his duties as a parent and demonstrated an impaired level of parental judgment sufficient to support the Family Court's finding of derivative neglect of the child Kamiyah C. ( see Matter of Lauryn H. [William A.], 73 AD3d 1175; Matter of Grant W. [Raphael A.], 67 AD3d 922).
In light of our determination, the appellant's remaining contentions need not be addressed.