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Number of UES buildings with positive Legionella tests more than doubles since preliminary findings

By

Caroline Lewis

Published Jul 14, 2026

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Legionella test

MD Zakir Mahmud/Getty Images

By

Caroline Lewis

Published Jul 14, 2026

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Dozens of additional water-cooling towers on the Upper East Side have tested positive for Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, amid the city health department’s ongoing investigation into an outbreak of the severe form of pneumonia.

The number of building sites affected by the outbreak has more than doubled since initial test results were released late last week.

City health officials released a list of 45 new buildings whose cooling towers tested positive for Legionella bacteria Tuesday evening, adding to an earlier list of 31 sites that was released on Friday.

All owners of the buildings whose towers tested positive have been ordered to drain, clean, and disinfect their buildings to remove the bacteria, city health officials said.

As of Tuesday, 57 building owners had completed the remediation process, and another 19 were ordered to complete it by Thursday, according to the city health department.

Cooling towers were tested in the three ZIP codes affected by the outbreak, stretching from the East River to Central Park: 10028, 10128 and 10075. City officials said Tuesday that the initial testing is now complete. No additional buildings were expected to test positive.

The 76 buildings whose towers have tested positive include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, the private schools Spence and Dalton and a Courtyard Marriott hotel, among other buildings.

“There is no additional risk associated with being inside one of these buildings,” Dr. Alister Martin, the city health commissioner, said Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the Guggenheim said last week that the museum is following all city regulations with regard to its cooling towers.

Gothamist reached out to the Met, Spence, Dalton and Marriott International on Wednesday for comment.

Identifying and remediating the cooling towers is a step forward in the city’s effort to contain the Legionnaires’ outbreak, which has so far sickened 63 people and sent 52 to the hospital, according to the city health department. No deaths have been reported so far.

But city officials say more testing will be needed to determine which of the buildings’ cooling towers is responsible for the Legionnaires’ outbreak. Legionella bacteria can grow in the water that sits inside buildings’ cooling towers. It is then spewed into the air along with water vapor, which passersby can inhale.

The number of new Legionnaires’ diagnoses has slowed in the affected area in recent days, after peaking on July 6, according to city data. Martin said on Friday that he expected new diagnoses to start tapering off as cooling towers in the neighborhood that tested positive for Legionella were remediated.

Additional buildings that tested positive for Legionella and have completed remediation:

Additional buildings that tested positive for Legionella and have been ordered to complete remediation by Thursday:

Unregistered cooling tower that tested positive for Legionella and completed remediation:

This story has been updated with new information on the number of people sicked and hospitalized, and with details on the additional buildings whose cooling towers have tested positive for Legionella.

Tagged

Health and Science

new york city

Caroline Lewis

Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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