{"id":207769,"date":"2025-09-07T14:03:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T14:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/207769\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T14:03:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T14:03:19","slug":"staten-island-mom-launches-crusade-after-son-6-dies-in-waterfront-tragedy-his-life-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/207769\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island mom launches crusade after son, 6, dies in waterfront tragedy: \u2018His life matters\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 On a stretch of shoreline in Stapleton, a painful reminder of tragedy haunts one Staten Island family. <\/p>\n

This is where 6-year-old Thomas Sanchez, a non-verbal child with autism, drowned last month after he got out of his home and accessed an unfenced section of the waterfront.<\/a><\/p>\n

Thomas had wandered to an approximately 50-foot opening on the far right corner of a park closest to the waterfront\u2019s rocky shoreline. The area is about 500 feet from the intersection of Front and Canal streets. <\/p>\n

\"NWSThis panorama view shows the section where Thomas Sanchez, 6, drowned at the Stapleton waterfront in mid-August. (Advance\/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence)Shaina McLawrence<\/p>\n

His mother, Christina Cardona, 37, described her son as energetic, intelligent, and affectionate, with a fondness for sensory comforts like chew toys, goldfish crackers, and playful routines with his family.<\/p>\n

And now he\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n

In the wake of his death, Cardona is fighting to make sure no other family experiences the loss that she did.<\/p>\n

The mother has launched a petition on Change.org<\/a> calling for the city to close the gap in the fencing and improve safety measures at the Stapleton waterfront. <\/p>\n

\u201cThomas is what\u2019s getting me to do this. His life matters,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to prevent something like this from happening again, that because of Thomas, no other child or anybody will suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ThomasThe above map depicts the path Thomas’ mother believes he took to the Stapleton Waterfront Park on the morning of Aug. 17, 2025.Google MapsBoy found unconscious<\/p>\n

Just before 9 a.m. on Aug. 17, Cardona flagged down local police to help search for her missing son near Broad Street and Tompkins Avenue. <\/p>\n

Officers canvassed the area and found Thomas unconscious in the water at the edge of Stapleton Waterfront Park.<\/p>\n

Despite lifesaving efforts and transport to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton, Thomas was pronounced dead. The investigation remains ongoing, according to police.<\/p>\n

Cardona believes Thomas wandered to a familiar section of the pier near Front Street, a place he often visited with his siblings, and accessed the water through the gap in the fencing. \u201cIt\u2019s not like it\u2019s a puddle,\u201d she said. \u201cAnybody can fall in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NWSGrieving mother Christina Cardona reflects on the events that led to the drowning death of her son Thomas Sanchez, 6, at the Stapleton waterfront in mid-August. (Advance\/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence)Shaina McLawrenceSafety concerns at the waterfront<\/p>\n

Although the rest of the waterfront walking path at the park is gated, Cardona pointed out that the corner section where Thomas drowned had no barriers or gates. <\/p>\n

Cardona emphasized the preventable nature of the tragedy, noting that her son would not have been able to climb over a fence had one been present. <\/p>\n

When reached for comment about safety precautions planned for the area, the New York City Parks Department expressed its sympathies for Thomas\u2019 family. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re saddened by this tragic loss of life and our hearts go out to the victim\u2019s family,\u201d said a spokesperson for the New York City Parks Department. <\/p>\n

Parks Enforcement regularly patrols the park and removes any patrons who they witness climbing on the rocks, the spokesperson said. The department deferred further questions about the death to the NYPD.<\/p>\n

\"NWSGrieving mother Christina Cardona reflects on the events that led to the drowning death of her son Thomas Sanchez, 6, at the Stapleton waterfront in mid-August. (Advance\/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence)Shaina McLawrence<\/p>\n

In an interview with the Advance\/SILive.com, Assemblyman Charles D. Fall, a Democrat who represents the North Shore, expressed his condolences to the family. He shared that this tragedy particularly resonates with him as he lost his 6-year-old brother in a similar drowning incident when he was 9 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy thought now is how do we make the area much safer? So things like this don\u2019t happen again,\u201d Fall said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the things we\u2019re going to be finally reaching out to the city about, is to assess the waterfront in that neighborhood and other neighborhoods to see what are some safety measures we can take so something like this does not happen in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fall also added that he is particularly concerned because of plans made for development of the waterfront area in the future.<\/p>\n

\"ThomasChristina Cardona, 37, described her son as energetic, intelligent, and affectionate, with a fondness for sensory comforts like chew toys, goldfish crackers, and playful routines with his family.(Advance\/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence)Shaina McLawrenceStruggling to cope<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the family is struggling to cope with the devastating loss. <\/p>\n

The tragedy has deeply affected Thomas\u2019 siblings, especially his twin brother Bobby and 9-year-old sister Aubrey. <\/p>\n

\u201cBobby\u2019s been on Thomas\u2019 bed a lot lately; he\u2019s just clinging to it\u201a” Cardona said. \u201cHe\u2019s been napping there. He\u2019s never slept on Thomas\u2019 bed before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their stepfather, Devin Everett, 34, shared a special bond with Thomas and visits the site nightly. \u201cThat was my boy,\u201d Everett said. <\/p>\n

\"ThomasThomas had wandered to an approximately 50-foot opening on the far right corner of a park closest to the waterfront\u2019s rocky shoreline. The area is about 500 feet from the intersection of Front and Canal streets.(Advance\/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence) Shaina McLawrence<\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019 loved ones are urging the community to be vigilant and proactive when they see a child in potential danger. \u201cIf you see a child, grab them,\u201d Everett said. \u201cIn moments like that, you say something, you do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of this week, the petition had garnered nearly 100 signatures. Cardona has also reached out to elected officials and organizations.<\/p>\n

Those interested in learning more about or participating in Cardona\u2019s petition can visit: change.org\/protection-gate-for-stapleton-water-front<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ThomasThomas’ family urges community members to intervene when seeing children who may be in danger.Courtesy of Christina Cardona<\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 On a stretch of shoreline in Stapleton, a painful reminder of tragedy haunts one…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":207770,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-207769","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115163392983324240","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}