36 Sickened, First Impacted Building Identified: UES Legionnaires' Disease Update

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — As the number of Legionnaires' disease cases continues to spike on the Upper East Side, Councilmember Julie Menin is now demanding that the city proactively order cleanings of more than 160 cooling towers in the impacted area, while waiting for test results.

In a letter on Wednesday evening to Dr. Alister Martin, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Menin said she is "deeply concerned" that the health department "has still failed to require building owners to proactively disinfect all cooling towers in the area under investigation, except those confirmed to be free of Legionella bacteria."

The outbreak of Legionnaires' disease emerged on July 2 and has been concentrated in ZIP codes 10028, 10128 and 10075.

As of Thursday morning, 36 people are sickened by Legionnaires' disease on the Upper East Side, and 22 of those people have been hospitalized, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Legionnaires’ disease, a type of pneumonia, is caused by bacteria called Legionella that thrive in humid environments, like cooling towers, which create cold air by cycling warm air through water, creating a humid environment within the system.

The disease spreads by inhaling contaminated mist, which can travel hundreds of feet, officials said.

There are more than 160 cooling towers in the three ZIP codes impacted.

"I am calling on the DOHMH to immediately order building owners to disinfect all cooling towers in the area of concern, starting near the epicenter and moving out, other than those where the Department has confirmed no Legionella bacteria is present," Menin wrote.

"We have received the letter and it is under review," Gilda Gillim, the assistant press secretary of the health department, told Patch. "Since July 2, the Health Department has been aggressively identifying cooling towers that test positive for the presence of Legionella bacteria and ordering building owners to clean and disinfect. We identified this cluster early and have acted quickly to get the word out to New Yorkers."

While New Yorkers wait for the city to release the addresses of the buildings with contaminated cooling towers in the coming days — as promised by Mayor Zohran Mamdani — one address has been confirmed, according to CBS News. The cooling tower at 1511 Third Avenue has tested positive for the bacteria.

The health department confirmed to Patch that the Third Avenue address is under investigation after testing positive for the bacteria.

Though the cooling tower tested positive for the bacteria, there is another test needed to confirm whether the bacteria is actively making people sick, or if the bacteria is dead. That test, called a bacterial culture, could take up to two weeks.

However, the city is not waiting for that second test to order a full cleaning of the appliance.

The number of patients is likely to continue to surge, as more people get tested and receive treatment, health officials said.

See Menin's full letter below.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.