Mayor Promises Transparency Amid Legionnaires’ Outbreak
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has committed to disclosing the addresses of all buildings with water-cooling towers that test positive for Legionella, the bacteria responsible for Legionnaires’ disease. This announcement comes as the city investigates a severe pneumonia outbreak in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
“In the face of a public health threat, New Yorkers deserve urgency and transparency,” Mamdani remarked during a Tuesday afternoon briefing, just before a town hall meeting where a hundred residents gathered to discuss the outbreak and the city’s response.
The city health department reports that 28 cases of Legionnaires’ have been identified, with 21 individuals hospitalized; thankfully, there have been no fatalities.
The affected individuals reside in or have visited the Upper East Side area covering ZIP codes 10028, 10128, and 10075, which extends from the East River to Central Park.
Last year, city health officials encountered criticism for their slow response in a similar outbreak in Central Harlem under former Mayor Eric Adams. That situation resulted in seven deaths.
Legionnaires’ disease, a serious pneumonia type, can be contracted by inhaling water vapor laced with Legionella bacteria. Early identification of the current cluster, reported late last week, suggests a cooling tower is likely releasing contaminated mist into the air.
City health officials are currently testing samples from all 160 cooling towers in the impacted ZIP codes. As of now, 139 towers have been tested since the effort began on Thursday. Once completed, the city will publicize the addresses of towers that test positive, as explained by Dr. Alister Martin, the health commissioner, during the town hall conducted in a church basement on Park Avenue.
Building owners with positive test results will be instructed to clean and disinfect their cooling towers to eliminate the bacteria, with health officials pledging to follow up on compliance.
One audience member queried the consequences if a building owner did not comply.
“We’ve never faced that,” replied Corinne Schiff, deputy commissioner for environmental health. “They always comply.”
Martin agreed, stating, “This is a matter of life and death.”
He anticipates that many buildings’ cooling towers will test positive for Legionella in this series of tests. However, he cautioned that a positive test doesn’t necessarily mean those towers are responsible for the illnesses. The initial PCR screening, which yields results in 24 to 48 hours, can return positives even if the bacteria are no longer viable.
Determining live bacteria requires a culture analysis taking about two weeks, Martin noted. Understanding the connection between contaminated towers and the strains affecting individuals may take additional time, involving whole-genome sequencing.
In the meantime, health officials are advising anyone in the affected ZIP codes or who has visited since late June to monitor for Legionnaires’ symptoms, treatable with antibiotics if caught early. Symptoms can include body aches, cough, shortness of breath, fever, fatigue, and gastrointestinal issues.
Residents were urged to consult their doctors if they feel unwell, or to contact 311 or visit an NYC Health and Hospitals facility if lacking a primary care provider.
Some audience members, however, expressed a desire for dedicated testing locations. Others acknowledged the information provided but felt frustrated by the lack of more definitive preventive measures.
In response, Martin indicated that masks would not be effective against Legionnaires’. He also noted that residents in buildings with cooling towers do not inherently face more risk than those without, as bacteria-laden mist can disperse through the air.
Chin Hu, a self-identified senior living on the Upper East Side, mused that leaving the city might be her best option. “We have a house upstate,” she said, “so maybe this is the best time to go.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
