NYC names 31 Upper East Side sites with Legionella towers

New York City health officials have identified 31 buildings on the Upper East Side, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, whose cooling towers have preliminarily tested positive for the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease. The announcement on July 10 comes amid an outbreak that has sickened 46 people, 22 of whom remain hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

The city’s Health Department released the addresses Friday evening, revealing that 19 of the affected buildings had already completed cleaning and disinfecting their cooling towers. The owners of the remaining 12 properties were ordered to complete remediation by July 11. Other notable locations on the list include the Asphalt Green campus, a Whole Foods Market, and Trevor Day School.

The outbreak is concentrated in the Carnegie Hill and Yorkville neighborhoods, specifically within ZIP codes 10028, 10128, and 10075. Officials identified the cluster on July 2 after finding two confirmed cases in close proximity and began an immediate investigation. More than 100 city employees worked over the July Fourth weekend, testing 183 cooling towers in the area.

Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin emphasized that the...