NYC orders 76 buildings, including Met Museum and elite schools, to disinfect cooling towers after Legionella tests

The New York City Health Department announced Tuesday that 76 buildings must clean and disinfect their cooling towers after tests detected Legionella bacteria. The list includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art and several private schools on the Upper East Side.

Health Commissioner Dr. Alister F. Martin said the Met and 19 other properties have been ordered to complete remediation by Thursday. The department has sampled 183 cooling towers in ZIP codes 10028, 10128 and 10075, more than double the number reported earlier this week.

"We are inspecting every building with a positive PCR test for the presence of live or dead Legionella bacteria. We will issue violations to building owners found not to have been properly maintaining their cooling towers," Martin said.

The museum cancelled scheduled activities on Wednesday, a day it is normally closed, and asked non-essential staff to work from home. A museum spokesperson said the detection of a trace amount of Legionella does not pose a risk to visitors or staff and that remediation is underway with third-party water-management specialists.

The outbreak has so far sickened 63 people, 52 of whom have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Martin warned that Legionnaires’ disease can cause severe illness and advised anyone who visited the area and develops flu-like symptoms to seek medical care promptly.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin criticized the health department for not ordering proactive disinfection earlier, saying each day of delay increased exposure risk. She announced a council hearing to review the city’s response and oversight.

The Spence School confirmed additional testing and professional cleaning of its cooling tower system. The Chapin and Dalton schools have not responded to requests for comment.