NYC Orders 160 Cooling Towers Cleaned After 23 Legionnaires’ Cases Hit Upper East Side
Updated
Updated · NBC New York · Jul 7
NYC Orders 160 Cooling Towers Cleaned After 23 Legionnaires’ Cases Hit Upper East Side
2 articles · Updated · NBC New York · Jul 7
Summary
Twenty-three people have fallen ill and 17 have been hospitalized in an Upper East Side Legionnaires’ cluster, prompting New York City to order all buildings with cooling towers in the area to clean and test them immediately.
More than 160 cooling towers are under scrutiny as health officials try to identify the source, which has not yet been found; Legionella often grows in poorly maintained towers and spreads through water vapor, not person-to-person contact.
The city expanded the impacted zone to the east side of Central Park from 76th Street to 97th Street, beyond ZIP codes 10028, 10128 and 10075, and warned more cases could emerge because symptoms can take days to develop.
Residents were told to watch for cough, fever and breathing trouble and seek testing quickly, while avoiding indoor steam; officials said drinking water, cooking, showering and air conditioning are typically safe.
The response comes after a 2025 Harlem cluster that killed seven people and after a tougher 90-day cooling-tower testing and cleaning law took effect in May, raising questions about whether noncompliant buildings are being targeted.