| Willowbrook State School | |
|---|---|
_-_cropped.jpg) Postcard of the school hospital building | |
| Location | |
 | |
Staten Island, New York, U.S. | |
| Coordinates | 40°35′59″N 74°09′06″W / 40.59972°N 74.15167°W |
| Information | |
| Opened | 1947 |
| Closed | 1987 |
Willowbrook State School was a state-supported institution for children with intellectual disabilities in the Willowbrook neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City, which operated from 1947 until 1987.
The school was designed for 4,000, but by 1965 it had a population of 6,000. At the time, it was the biggest state-run institution for people with mental disabilities in the United States.[1] Conditions and questionable medical practices and experiments prompted US Senator Robert F. Kennedy to call it a "snake pit".[2] The institution gained national infamy in 1972, when Geraldo Rivera did an exposé on the conditions there.[3] Public outcry led to its closure in 1987, and to federal civil rights legislation protecting people with disabilities. A February 2020 New York Times investigation found that the alumni of Willowbrook continue to be abused in smaller group homes.[4]
A portion of the grounds and some of the buildings were incorporated into the campus of the College of Staten Island, which moved to Willowbrook in the early 1990s. Records and documentation relating to the experiences of the school residents and staff, and the activities of parents and caregivers who brought about the closure of the school are held by the College of Staten Island Library Archives.[5]
- ^ Alberto M. Bursztyn (December 30, 2006). The Praeger Handbook of Special Education (1st ed.). Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-313-33262-2. Archived from the original on September 4, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- ^ "A Guide to Willowbrook State School Resources at Other Institutions". 2012-04-14. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Great Disgracewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
NYT Weiserwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Willowbrook State School | College of Staten Island ArchivesSpace". archivesspace.library.csi.cuny.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-09.