By Mary Frost
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BROOKLYN -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Maclaren USA announced a recall Monday of every Maclaren stroller made in the last 10 years -- about one million strollers.

Maclaren strollers are ubiquitous throughout New York City.

The commission has received reports that at least 12 children in the United States have had their fingertips amputated after placing their fingers in the stroller’s hinge mechanism while the stroller was being folded or opened.

Consumers should immediately stop using their strollers and contact the company to receive a free repair kit, according to the Commission. The toll-free number is (877) 688-2326; the firm’s web site is www.maclaren.us/recall – but the site had crashed Monday, presumably from the huge number of people trying to visit it at once.

“I’ve taken every stroller off the floor,� said Darek Cegielski, owner of the popular Heights Kids and Toy Box on Pineapple Walk in Brooklyn Heights. Cegielski estimates he’s sold hundreds, if not thousands of Maclaren strollers over the past ten years.

Cegielski said the incidents happen only when parents are folding or opening the stroller. “You have to be very careful,� he said. “Don’t fold the stroller when your kid puts his fingers near.�

He noted that some other brands have a similar hinge. “This is a voluntary recall. Maybe the other stroller companies will do the same thing.�

Brooklyn Heights mother Amy Brown, who was pushing her son Sam in a green Maclaren in the Toy Box, said she was not all that concerned. “Can we send it in and get a new one?� she asked hopefully. When told that the company was only supplying repair kits, she shrugged and pushed her son out of the store, still in his stroller.

The affected models included Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.

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