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Grandparents who wanted to take custody of their grandson, after the child mother's was found to have neglected and endangered the child, cannot do so because the mother "surrendered her parental rights … on the condition that he be adopted by the foster parents." And when that happens, a nonparent relative does not take precedence, a state appeals court ruled.

"A nonparent relative takes no precedence for custody over the adoptive parents selected by an authorized agency," wrote an Appellate Division, Second Department panel, quoting Matter of Ella J. v. Iva J., 4 A.D.3d 527, 528, in its unanimous opinion.

"Here, the maternal grandparents sought custody of the child, but they did not seek to adopt him," wrote the panel, which affirmed the 2018 ruling by Queens County Family Court Judge Diane Costanzo, who dismissed a petition by the maternal grandparents for custody of the child.

(The names of the grandparents and the mother were not given in the opinion.)

Michael Fiechter, an attorney in Bellmore, New York, represented the grandparents, according the appellate decision. He could not be reached for comment Friday.

According to panel Justices Mark Dillon, John Leventhal, Joseph Maltese and Linda Christopher, the city's Administration for Children's Services in 2016 removed the 7-month-old boy from his mother's care after she was arrested for prostitution and child endangerment.

The boy was later placed with a nonkinship foster family, the justices wrote.

In addition, in a subsequent neglect proceeding, the Family Court entered a neglect finding against the mother, though it was without an admission of neglect and it was on her consent, the justices said.

At some later point, the maternal grandparents, who resided Maine and had previously adopted the boy's older sibling, petitioned for custody of the child.

But on learning that the mother intended to execute a conditional surrender of the child to free him for adoption by the foster parents, the Family Court dismissed the grandparents' custody petition, the justices added, though the court did that without prejudice, so as to allow the grandparents to intervene in a termination of parental rights proceeding should the mother decide not to execute the conditional surrender.

The mother did later execute the conditional surrender of her parental rights, freeing the child for adoption by the foster parents, the justices said in their Oct. 2 ruling, and therefore, the Family Court properly dismissed the grandparents' custody petition.

The city's Law Department, which represented ACS in the appeal, did not immediately comment Friday.