NYC Legionella Outbreak: Positive Cooling Tower Tests More Than Double

Expansion of Positive Legionella Findings on the Upper East Side

The number of buildings identified with Legionella bacteria in their cooling towers has risen significantly since the city health department began its investigation into the cluster. As of Tuesday, 76 sites had returned preliminary positive tests, a figure that more than doubles the 31 locations initially reported late last week.

The affected infrastructure is concentrated within three ZIP codes: 10028, 10128, and 10075. According to Abc7ny, the city has completed sampling of all 183 cooling towers in the area and does not anticipate finding additional positive results. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is among the prominent institutions that received notification of trace amounts of bacteria in its system.

Remediation Protocols and Public Health Risk

City officials have ordered all building owners with positive tests to drain, clean, and disinfect their cooling towers. By Tuesday, 57 of the affected sites had completed this process, while the remaining 19 were mandated to finish by Thursday. NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin emphasized that the presence of DNA evidence does not confirm the bacteria is alive, but the city is taking precautionary action regardless.

“Being on that list does not mean that there absolutely is live legionella bacteria in that cooling tower. It means that there is DNA evidence of legionella bacteria — could be dead, could be live.”

For more on this story, see Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak in New York: Should France National Team Fans Be Concerned?.

Dr. Alister Martin, NYC Health Commissioner

Dr. Martin also stated that there is no additional risk associated with being inside one of these buildings.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art stated that it had initiated the required remediation in accordance with city guidelines. In a statement, the museum noted that, based on advice from public health experts, the finding does not pose a risk to staff or visitors inside the Museum.

Outbreak Status and Political Friction

While the total number of confirmed cases has reached 60, health officials report that the pace of new diagnoses has tapered off. Hospitalizations have also trended downward, with 49 patients initially requiring care and more than half having since returned home. Despite the decline in new cases, the outbreak has become a point of contention between city leadership and local representatives.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin has criticized the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) for its response, arguing for more proactive disinfection measures. From day one I’ve said the health department should be proactively ordering the disinfecting of all towers rather than waiting for test results to come back where more and more people end up contracting Legionnaires’, Menin stated.

However, experts warn that such a strategy faces practical limitations. Dr. Tyler Evans, CEO of the Wellness Equity Alliance, noted that public health agencies are currently navigating significant resource constraints. Particularly under this current administration where public health is really under attack from a federal level, where a number of cities, counties and states are losing funding, losing support, losing legitimacy, it is increasingly more difficult for us to do our jobs, Evans said.

Councilmember Lynn Schulman added that the city has struggled to enforce existing legislation requiring 31-day testing cycles for cooling towers. While the previous administration supported the measure, she indicated that the current DOHMH needs to ensure full compliance. As the investigation continues, officials maintain that the public can safely use tap water and air conditioning in the affected neighborhoods.

Find more reporting in our Health section.