More than 500 former residents, relatives, people with disabilities, advocates, officials and others marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of a document that led to the closure of the infamous Willowbrook State School and ushered in a new era.

They gathered on Friday, May 2 at the College of Staten Island — built on the grounds where Willowbrook once stood — to describe not only how Willowbrook became emblematic of an era when people with developmental disabilities were warehoused, but also the events that led to the institution’s end.