Gouvernor State School

Gouvernor State School. Willowbrook Mile. , In 1962, to address Willowbrook overcrowding, the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene began quietly transferring about 200 children and infants with severe disabilities to the condemned former Gouverneur Hospital in Manhattan's lower East Side. The majority of transferred children did not speak or walk and the State claimed that they had a short life expectancy. Officials justified the use of a condemned site because the placement would be short-term, but in fact the State ignored the human needs of the children being transferred., The Gouverneur transfers are central to the Willowbrook story, illustrating the lack of available care and the fight for residents' and parents' rights. In advocating for their children, the Gouverneur Parents' Association built partnerships among families, staff, journalists, and the community (including Black Panthers and Young Lords). In essence, the legal struggle that led to Willowbrook's eventual closure began at Gouverneur. In 1971, the Gouverneur parents successfully won a court injunction ordering New York State to establish care for their children that respected their essential human rights. (Photographs by Nancy Starrels)