COPS IN BLESSED EVENT
Upper ‘Easter’ Side delivery
With two NYPD cops playing the role of bunny, an Upper East Side couple got a very special delivery in their Easter basket Sunday morning — a baby girl.
Phil and Kelly Crotty left their home for the hospital after she went into labor at around 8 a.m., but the married couple had gotten only as far as their parked car when they realized their little daughter wasn’t about to wait — she was already starting to crown.
“We were on our way to the hospital already. My wife was getting in the car, and we knew we weren’t going to make it,” Phil Crotty told The Post. “So we called 911.”
While trying to help Kelly, 37, give birth in the front seat of their car, parked at East 92nd Street and York Avenue, Crotty also flagged down NYPD Officer Stephan Koustoubardis.
The 29-year-old cop and his rookie partner, Vincent Ching, 25, immediately jumped in to help.
“I actually stepped in and assisted the husband and took care of the rest of the delivery with him,” Koustoubardis said.
“My partner also helped out by getting some of the stuff that we needed to make sure the baby was safe and delivered properly.”
The on-duty delivery was a first for both cops.
“It was actually a great feeling just knowing the fact that we were the first ones that responded to the scene, and it was very uplifting as police officers,” Ching said, grinning.
“We don’t normally handle these kinds of situations, and it feels great to help directly bring a new life into this world,” added Ching, who has been on the job only eight months. “It really brings excite- ment to the job, so I’m looking forward to other things.”
EMS arrived shortly after the baby girl did, and the proud parents and their new child were transported to NYU Langone Medical Center.
“I’m just happy it all worked out,” the dad said. “Kind of a scary morning.”
He said his wife and the newborn were in good health.
“She’s doing great. Everyone’s healthy,” said a beaming Crotty.
“This is our second child. We also have a soon-to-be-3-year-old [boy],” he said.
He noted that the family was tickled by the delivery date — and not just because it was Easter Sunday.
“April Fools!” he chortled. “Our family loved that.”
Koustoubardis and Ching, who accompanied the couple to the hospital, were also thrilled.
“It feels fantastic. Honestly, it’s a natural high feeling of being happy in life,” Koustoubardis said.
The eight-year veteran said the little girl was his “first [delivery] in my years of policing.”
The parents were “very thankful. Everybody’s OK,” he said.
The Crottys, who chose to keep their new daughter’s name secret, posed for a photo with the officers in their hospital room.
“We’re ecstatic!” the dad crowed. “More than anything I want to thank the NYPD, the EMTs, paramedics and especially the 911 operator who really talked me through it.”