Senator Fuschillo to Hold Public Forum Examining Need for Statewide Ban of Drop-Side Cribs

New York State Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (R-Merrick) will be holding a public forum on Thursday, February 4^th at 11 am to examine the need for a statewide ban on drop-side cribs. Drop-side cribs have been blamed for multiple deaths and injuries of children, including on Long Island.

The forum will be held at Farmingdale State College in Lupton Hall’s IRTT Conference Room. Discussion will focus on legislation (S6356) sponsored by Senator Fuschillo, Senator Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), and Senator Stephen Saland (R-Poughkeepsie) to ban the sale, import, manufacturing, and distribution of drop-side cribs throughout New York State.

Those expected to testify at the forum include local parents who have lost children to drop-side cribs, physicians, and representatives of child safety groups and manufacturers of child products.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), because a drop-side crib’s hardware is often made of plastic, it can break or malfunction, causing the drop-side to detach and create a space between the crib mattress. Infants and toddlers can roll into this space and become entrapped and suffocate, or sustain serious injury if the drop-side detaches completely.

The CPSC recently recalled 635,000 cribs following the tragic death of a six-month old child in Iowa, who was strangled after the drop-side hardware broke. Similar recalls have resulted in millions of cribs being taken out of circulation because of safety concerns.

All residents are welcome to submit written testimony; oral testimony will be by invitation only. For more information about the public forum, please contact Senator Fuschillo’s office at 516-882-0630.

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