New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin has introduced a bill aimed at preventing future Legionnaires' disease outbreaks, sharply criticizing the current administration's response to a recent cluster of cases on the Upper East Side. The bill proposes a public education campaign similar to those used for COVID-19, enhanced inspections of buildings that have not tested their cooling towers, and a dedicated hotline to inform New Yorkers about the disease.
The outbreak, which began July 2, has resulted in five deaths and dozens of infections, with seven individuals still hospitalized. Menin stated that the city's health department did not take sufficient proactive measures, waiting for test results before disinfecting potentially affected areas.
"We have so many questions that still remain unanswered," Menin said. "The past few weeks have been a very tense and difficult time for the East Side of Manhattan."
The legislation comes as concerns grow over the city's capacity to manage cooling tower inspections. Menin noted that the Department of Health is understaffed, leading to a backlog in testing essential for identifying Legionella bacteria, which thrives in warm water and is commonly found in air conditioning cooling towers.
According to Menin, more than 25% of buildings are not in compliance with cooling tower inspection requirements. "As the number of cases have increased, so have the number of concerns," she said. "I’ve heard from so many constituents who lacked essential information on disease risk, on exposure, on prevention."
Since last year, over 250 cooling towers citywide have been cited for issues related to Legionella testing, with Manhattan accounting for more than half of these citations. Following the recent outbreak, tests of 76 buildings on the Upper East Side, including the Guggenheim, revealed the presence of the bacteria. All identified buildings subsequently cleaned and disinfected their cooling towers.
A City Council hearing is scheduled for September to review the administration's preparedness and response to the outbreak. The Council's position is that the city should have been better prepared, especially after a significant Legionnaires' outbreak in Harlem last year that caused five deaths and infected over 100 people.
In response to the Harlem outbreak, the Council passed a law requiring building owners to conduct Legionella tests every 30 days during warmer months. However, the city has reportedly fallen short in its oversight. Lynn Schulman, chair of the Council's Committee on Health, expressed concern that the Department of Health has not hired the expected number of inspectors, impacting the city's ability to enforce regulations. "The fear is the number of cases will only increase," Schulman said. "Not a lot, but they will creep up."
The bill is expected to be formally introduced in the coming weeks.