Opinion
February 9, 1988
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Ethel B. Danzig, J.).
It was improper for the Supreme Court to grant defendant father visitation in conjunction with the paternal grandparents' visits without any evidentiary hearing or demonstration of a change in circumstance occurring since the prior order which terminated his visitation privileges. Nor should the court have extended the previously agreed-upon grandparents' visitation to include weekends, without first conducting a hearing to determine whether this would be in the best interests of this three-year-old child (see, Lo Presti v Lo Presti 40 N.Y.2d 522, 527). Accordingly, we modify to vacate those portions of the order and to direct an evidentiary hearing on these issues. The trial of the action appears imminent, and if so, such hearing may be conducted in the course of the trial. Our modification leaves intact, as a temporary measure, visitation three times a month with the grandparents at which defendant will not be in attendance.
Concur — Kupferman, J.P., Ross, Asch, Kassal and Ellerin, JJ.