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NYC health department hires influx of inspectors after Legionnaires’ outbreak
By
Joe Hong
Published Oct 3, 2025
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By
Joe Hong
Published Oct 3, 2025
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New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has hired six more water ecologists in the weeks following this summer’s Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that killed seven people and sickened 114 in total.
The new hires expand the agency’s ability to prevent future outbreaks by inspecting more cooling towers where dangerous Legionella bacteria can grow. Diane Fung, assistant commissioner for environmental health, said the roles have been historically difficult to fill, but this year’s public health crisis, and the publicity it received, resulted in an influx of applications for the positions.
In August, Gothamist reported that the department lost more than a third of its cooling tower inspectors in the three years leading up to the outbreak. Fung said the staffing shortage led to fewer inspections. A Gothamist analysis of city data found that the number of inspections had dropped to historic lows since Mayor Eric Adams took office in 2022.
The agency now has 30 water ecologists, a 25% increase since the start of the outbreak. Fung said water ecologists are difficult to hire because they require a bachelor’s degree in science. Like other public sector jobs, she said, the agency is competing with the private sector that may be offering higher salaries.
“We still have a few vacancies,” Fung said. “But the attention to the position was helpful.”
Chantal Gomez, a health department spokesperson, declined to provide the number of applications the agency received since the outbreak.
NYC health commissioner Michelle Morse updated the public on the Legionnaires' outbreak in Harlem in August.
Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
Fung said having more inspections will help promote regulatory compliance among building owners, though she stopped short of saying whether additional staffing could have prevented the outbreak. However, Chris Boyd, a former New York City health official, said the roles are critical to public health.
“Without a doubt, the ability to perform oversight is critical to preventing an outbreak,” he said.
Fung said the agency is currently determining a new goal for how many cooling tower inspections it will conduct in the next 12 months.
Cooling towers are typically installed on roofs and help circulate water throughout a building’s air conditioning system. The warm water that sits in a cooling tower’s basin can become a breeding ground for Legionella bacteria.
In addition to the new hires, Boyd said a change in regulations could help the agency make better use of the new water ecologists. The process currently requires building owners to turn over testing and routine maintenance records to water ecologists when an inspection is conducted.
The system could be more proactive, Boyd argues, if owners instead had to upload daily and weekly test results into a city portal, allowing the agency to flag and prioritize cooling towers that lack the proper records.
Building owners currently only have to submit test results every three months. The City Council is considering legislation that would make it a monthly requirement.
“The annual inspection is a historical review,” Boyd said. “So if there were failures for eight months prior to the inspection, it’s only being caught eight months later.”
Fung said the agency is exploring ways to enhance the inspection process but did not provide additional details.
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Health and Science
new york city
Joe Hong
Joe Hong is the investigative data reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. He previously covered K-12 education for several newsrooms across California. His reporting has led to local reforms in juvenile justice system as well as a state law requiring universal screening for dyslexia. 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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