Opinion
October 13, 1994
Appeal from the Family Court, New York County (Ruth J. Zuckerman, J.).
Undisputed testimony that respondent failed to contact the children or the agency for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of the petition, though able to do so, gave rise to a presumption of abandonment that respondent failed to rebut (Matter of Anthony M., 195 A.D.2d 315). Moreover, respondent was not prevented from visiting or communicating with the children during the requisite six-month period. Lastly, the court also properly found that termination of parental rights to allow for adoption by the foster mother was in the best interests of the children.
Concur — Murphy, P.J., Sullivan, Rosenberger, Nardelli and Tom, JJ.