THE BRONX — The mother of a 3-year-old boy who was beaten to death last month is planning to sue the city for $25 million for failing to ensure her son was in a safe environment, according to court documents.
Ashley Ramirez filed a notice of claim against the city and the Administration for Children's Services over the death of her son, Poseidon Quinones, who police said was killed by his step-grandfather Fernando Yensi in November.
Poseidon was placed with Fernando and Madeline Yensi, the child's paternal grandmother, in October, court documents said, and the claim accuses the city and ACS of acting with "deliberate indifference" by not screening the Yensis to ensure they would take good care of him.
Ramirez requested many times that Poseidon be placed somewhere else based on the history of child abuse in the Yensi household, but the city placed him with the couple anyway, according to the claim.
ACS had rejected the Yensis' home as a suitable place for Poseidon less than a year before placing him there in October, the claim says.
Ramirez had lost custody of Poseiden after getting into a domestic dispute with the boy's father, according to her lawyer Abe George.
Poseidon was found unconscious in his grandmother's East 163rd Street home on Nov. 15 and taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
ACS referred a request for comment to the New York City Law Department. A Law Department spokesman said in an email that the city would review the claim "regarding this tragic case."
The comptroller's office declined to comment.
George described the legal action as a way to figure out more about the circumstances that led to the child's death.
"The amount of money is never going to replace a child, but finding out the answer will prevent tragedies like this from happening," he said, "and I think that's the real motivation to us moving forward."
