NYC makes progress testing Upper East Side buildings for Legionnaires' disease
With the number of Legionnaires' disease cases now at 23, New York City is aggressively testing more than 150 cooling towers on Upper East Side buildings.
Impacted residents packed a town hall on Tuesday night seeking answers about the outbreak.
Vast majority of buildings tested, health commissioner says
The cases of Legionnaires, a type of pneumonia, are being monitored in three different Upper East Side zip codes. City health officials say 139 of the 160 buildings have been tested.
The officials addressed questions about the response and testing, adding the risk to most people is low and that the disease is not contagious person to person but is from prolonged exposure.
"We have had inspectors working day in and day out to sample as many of these cooling towers as we can," Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin said.
"This is a community with a high number of seniors who are susceptible and vulnerable," City Council Speaker Julie Menin said.
Mamdani administration taking an aggressive stance
Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Office said Tuesday night it take the unprecedented step of publicly releasing the addresses of all buildings whose cooling towers test positive for Legionella bacteria during the initial PCR screening process.
Buildings with positive initial tests are also being ordered to immediately drain, clean and disinfect their cooling towers to reduce the risk of further exposure.
"When there's a public health threat, New Yorkers deserve urgency and transparency from their government," Mamdani said in a statement. "That's why we're using every tool available to protect people by moving quickly to identify potential sources of exposure, requiring immediate remediation and making sure New Yorkers have the information they need to keep themselves and their families safe."
Mamdani is asking residents to monitor symptoms that include fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, and shortness of breath, and to seek medical care immediately.
Residents say town hall meeting was helpful
One resident said they have been trying to get help by calling 311, but their calls are not going through.
"It was like a maze of press 4, press 3. Finally we got somebody on the line and they said they can't do anything," the resident said.
"I'm inviting my friends to my neighborhood to hang out. Am I putting them in danger?" resident Mohit Sani added.
Others said Tuesday night's meeting helped answer important questions.
"It seems to me the city is ahead of it, given the first symptoms were July 2," Terry Quinn said. "The cases are rising, but I have to have faith in the New York City Department of Health."
