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Council Speaker Julie Menin is demanding the Mamdani administration order Upper East Side building owners to disinfect their cooling towers to prevent a further outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that has already infected at least 28 residents across two Manhattan nabes.
Menin sent a letter to city Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin on Wednesday, requesting that he issue an emergency clean-up edict for towers in Carnegie Hill and Yorkville — as health officials scramble to locate the source of the dangerous outbreak.
“I am calling … 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,” she wrote.
There are at least 28 confirmed cases of Legionnaires’, including 21 people who have been hospitalized, according to the health department’s dashboard.
“I am deeply concerned that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has still failed to require building owners to proactively disinfect all cooling towers in the area under investigation,” Menin added.
She joined the health commissioner Martin at a town hall Tuesday to discuss the growing outbreak with residents at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola.
“Every day, more of our neighbors are falling ill from Legionnaires’ disease. This district has some of the densest zip codes in the nation and a high number of seniors who are especially susceptible to the disease, making this request even more necessary and urgent,’ the speaker wrote.
The health department said Menin’s request is “under review.”
A department spokesperson said since July 2 inspectors have been aggressively identifying cooling towers that test positive for Legionella bacteria and ordering those buildings to be disinfected.
“We identified this cluster early and have acted quickly to get the word out to New Yorkers,” the spokesperson added.
Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia caused by bacteria (Legionella) that grow in warm water.
It causes flu-like symptoms, and complications from the disease can be serious and even fatal, if left untreated, according to health officials.
People who breathe in water vapor or mist that contains Legionella bacteria can get sick.
Most people who are exposed to Legionella bacteria do not develop the disease. Illness typically occurs after high or repeated exposure, especially for people who are at increased risk such as the elderly, those with lung disease or who are immunocompromised.
Legionnaires’ disease is not contagious and cannot be spread from person to person — or by drinking water or air conditioners.
“The bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease does not spread through cooled air from air conditioners,” the department said.
There were 114 confirmed Legionnaires’ disease cases during an outbreak in Harlem last summer, including seven people who died from it.
English (US)