Upper East Side cooling towers, including Guggenheim, test positive for Legionella
The city health department confirmed that 31 Upper East Side buildings have Legionella in their cooling towers, prompting cleaning orders and ongoing testing to locate the source of a local outbreak.
The New York City health department said Friday that water-cooling towers at 31 Upper East Side properties, including the Guggenheim Museum, have tested positive for Legionella bacteria, the cause of Legionnaires’ disease. The agency has already required owners of 19 buildings to clean and disinfect their towers, and it expects the remaining towers to be remediated by Saturday.
"What we are doing is going to the source [of the outbreak] and taking that off the map," Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin told reporters, adding that eliminating the source should resolve the cluster.
Since the first cases were identified on July 2, 46 residents in ZIP codes 10128, 10028 and 10075 have tested positive, 22 of whom have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported in this wave. Officials note that symptoms can appear up to two weeks after exposure, so additional cases may still be identified.
The Guggenheim’s spokesperson, Allegra Thoresen, said the museum continues to follow all city cooling-tower regulations and uses third-party experts for maintenance. City Council Speaker Julie Menin earlier criticized the department for waiting for test results before ordering cleaning, a point the health department defended by citing its aggressive testing and remediation program.
Health officials will now conduct culture analyses and whole-genome sequencing to distinguish live bacteria and match strains to patient samples, a process that could take weeks. Residents and visitors to the affected area are urged to seek medical attention if they develop fever, cough, shortness of breath or related symptoms.