NYC Mayor Mamdani announces plan to prevent Legionnaires' disease after deadly outbreak

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a plan to ramp up the city's response to Legionnaires' disease after a deadly outbreak this summer.

The cluster on Manhattan's Upper East Side killed 11 people and sickened 94 others. 

City officials said they want to expand oversight of cooling towers, which can contain Legionella bacteria. The plan is to track registered towers and crack down on unregistered ones.

The Health Department already has an address-based tool to look up registered towers, but they are going to add a citywide map by spring. Residents will be able to look up ones near their neighborhoods or offices and check their inspection history, including whether they're following Legionella testing requirements.

Health officials and the Buildings Department are planning to better connect their systems to identify unregistered cooling towers before they begin operating. 

Other new measures include exploring faster testing methods and using an advisory panel to evaluate cooling technology. 

"Our response to the Upper East Side cluster was fast and aggressive, and we are building on what we learned to make our systems stronger, enforcement faster and public health response more transparent," Mamdani said. "New Yorkers deserve a government that moves with urgency to keep them safe."

Since May 8, 460 of 800 field inspections resulted in at least one violation, according to city officials. Officials say they want to continue ramping up enforcement to prevent another outbreak.

But even with all of these changes, it is still unclear which cooling tower, if any, was the source of this summer's cluster. The city is waiting on genetic testing results that are expected this fall for more answers.