- HEALTH & FITNESS
City announces aggressive action to address Legionnaires‘ cluster on Upper East Side
ByEyewitness News
Wednesday, July 8, 2026 3:37AM
UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) –New York City health officials held a town hall on Tuesday night on the Upper East Side to try to calm fears amid a Legionnaires’ outbreak
There are 23 confirmed cases so far in 3 zip codes covering the Carnegie Hill, Yorkville and Lenox Hill neighborhoods
The city says it’s testing every cooling tower in the area for Legionella bacteria
It also says it will take the unprecedented step of releasing the addresses of any buildings that test positive during an initial screening process
Council Speaker Julie Menin says that doesn’t go far enough
“I’m concerned that thement, what I’ve been pushing for is that they disinfect all the towers. Why wait to get the testing results? More people are getting sick,” Menin said
With doctors on the alert to test patients with flu or pneumonia-like symptoms, health officials expect the number of confirmed legionnaires’ cases to rise
At least 17 people have been hospitalized
In a notice to the two neighborhoods, the department said it believes the likely a mist that contains the bacteria
“We found this early, we moved immediately, and we have not stopped since. What we have in front of us is 160 cooling towers across this region that we are looking at, and we are not waiting. Work has already begun in terms of remediating,” said Dr. Alister Martin, NYC Health Commissioner
Dr. Martin said there are a number of patients who are critical and in the ICU
The outbreak was detected late last week in Yorkville and Carnegie Hill, a single square mile area from East 74th to East 96th streets. The patients live in the ZIP codes 10028, 10128, and 10075
The precisefatal form of pneumonia
A similar outbreak in Harlem last year killed seven people and sickened 114 others
Although most people recover from Legionnaires’ disease with antibiotics, certain patients — including those who are immunocompromised or who suffer from chronic lung diseases — can develop complications that can be fatal
About one out of every 10 people who develop Legionnaires’ disease will die due to complications, according to the CDC. Among those who develop Legionnaires’ disease during a stay in a healthcare facility, about one out of every four people will die, the federal health agency added
The NYC Health Department said anyone who lives or works in the affected areas, or has visited since late June, and is experiencing flu-like symptoms should contact a healthcare provider immediately
Dr. Darien Sutton joins Eyewitness News with more on the Legionnaires’ cluster on the Upper East Side.
(ABC News contributed to this report.)
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