NYC faces criticism over cooling-tower inspections after second Legionnaires outbreak
A second Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on Manhattan’s Upper East Side has prompted survivors and experts to blame city officials for insufficient cooling-tower inspections and staffing.
More than 90 residents of Manhattan’s Upper East Side were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease during a summer outbreak that left nine people dead, health officials said. The cases followed a similar outbreak in Harlem last year, marking two successive waves in as many years.
Investigators linked the infections to cooling towers, components of building air-conditioning systems that can harbor Legionella bacteria when not properly maintained. Initial testing found over 75 towers in the affected zip codes positive for the pathogen, including those at the Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The city ordered owners to drain and disinfect the towers.
Survivors, such as 63-year-old professor Ken Pearl, argue that the city failed to act quickly enough. Pearl, who was bedridden for weeks, said, "Why did New York City not do more inspections? I blame New York City."
City health department spokesperson William Fowler acknowledged staffing shortfalls, noting that only 35 of 56 inspector positions were filled at the start of the outbreak. He said the department now has 43 inspectors, with six more being onboarded, and that inspections have risen 35% compared with the previous year. Fowler added that the agency has issued more than 100 violations and collected $71,000 in fines since May.
Public-health experts contend that the outbreaks are preventable with stronger enforcement. Water-systems consultant Chris Boyd, who helped draft the city’s cooling-tower rules in 2015, said, "Having a proactive, effective outbreak response is good. Preventing the outbreak is better."
Data reviewed by the health department show that about half of the towers in the three Upper East Side zip codes had not been inspected in the year before the outbreak, and 26% of owners failed to report required Legionella tests. Boyd recommended lowering the reporting threshold for bacterial levels and adopting a more collaborative inspection approach, citing Vancouver’s stricter limits as a model.
The city’s cooling-tower regulations are among the nation’s toughest, requiring owners to develop maintenance plans and conduct regular testing. Nevertheless, officials acknowledge challenges in meeting the goal of inspecting every tower at least once annually.
Legal actions are also pending. More than 50 plaintiffs have filed lawsuits alleging negligence by the health department, contractors and building owners related to the 2025 Harlem outbreak.
The health department says it will continue to monitor cooling towers and enforce compliance to reduce the risk of future Legionnaires’ disease cases.