My sons grandmother had permission over a year ago by me, the maternal mother, to keep my son for a couple weeks. She never brought him back, and police say its not kidnapping because I gave her permission to take him. His father was incarcerated during that time. I just moved to the state where my son lives, and have been told he is enrolled in daycare here in Queens, NY. My sons father since his release from prison, and his grandmother, have refused to let me even see my child and have threatened harsassment charges if I continue to call and check on my son. I cannot afford to go to court and fight for full legal custody. There is no order in place and my sons father and I were never married. Can I legally pick up my son from his daycare if I provide his birth certificate, ss card, and my identification card to prove Im his mother and Im who I say I am?

You can't afford not to go to court. And you probably asked the wrong questions of the police. Yes this wasn't kidnapping, but that doesn't mean the grandmother had a right to keep the child from you. Without a court order, she has no right to put the child in school, or authorize medical care, etc. But the father does. So if the father is now living with them. He has these rights. And I'll bet they have instructed the school not to release the child to you, so going there, even with ID, will probably not work. If you do and the day care refuses to turn the child over, that alerts them of your plans.

You need to go to Family Court and get a custody order or at least file one so you are on record as filing first.

As far as they filing harassment charges, I would call their bluff. Since they have no right to prevent you from seeing your son based on what you have told us, if they go to the police to file such charges, that will raise the question about why they are interfering with your parental rights.