'Unimaginable Horror': Widow Of Legionnaires' Victim Speaks Out

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Ida Goldstein, the grieving widow of a Legionnaires' disease victim on the Upper East Side, spoke out for the first time since her husband died of the disease.

At a press conference Tuesday with her lawyer, Ronald Katter, Goldstein told reporters that once the cooling tower responsible for the bacterial outbreak is identified, she intends to sue its owner, arguing her husband's death was preventable.

"To know that a negligent property owner turned our neighborhood into a toxic danger zone, forcing me to breathe in the very same lethal bacteria that was killing my husband just to be by his side is an unimaginable horror," Goldstein said.

Robert Goldstein, an 88-year-old retired Air Force veteran, was in good health before falling ill, the widow said. He was rushed to the hospital on July 2 — the same day the health department began investigating the outbreak — after Goldstein found him at home with a 104-degree fever, head in his hands.

He was a "wonderful person" with a "good heart," Goldstein said, wearing a kriah ribbon, a customary sign of grief in Judaism.

Shortly before he died, he told Goldstein, "'I don't want to leave you. I love you so much,'" she said.

The Health Department has not yet identified the source of the outbreak. Officials have said they are continuing culture testing on cooling towers that initially tested positive for Legionella bacteria to determine which, if any, are responsible.

As of Tuesday, the outbreak had grown to 76 confirmed cases, according to the Health Department, and four people have died. Seven people remain hospitalized, 53 have been discharged and another 12 people were not hospitalized.

The investigation remains focused on ZIP codes 10028, 10128 and 10075, encompassing parts of Carnegie Hill and Yorkville.

Health officials have urged anyone who has spent time in the area since late June and develops flu-like symptoms — including fever, cough, chills, muscle aches or shortness of breath — to seek medical care promptly, noting that Legionnaires' disease can typically be treated successfully with antibiotics when caught early.

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