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NYC says 2 more die from Upper East Side Legionnaires' outbreak, bringing toll to 11
By
Charles Lane
Published Aug 28, 2026
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By
Charles Lane
Published Aug 28, 2026
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Two more people died from Legionnaires' disease connected to this summer's Upper East Side outbreak, bringing the death toll to 11, city Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin said Friday.
The outbreak has now sickened 94 people since July, according to the health department, and is the deadliest Legionnaires' cluster in New York City since a 2015 outbreak in the Bronx that killed 17.
“There is no evidence of ongoing transmission as the last diagnosis was more than six weeks ago,” Martin said in a social media post, adding that his office confirmed the deaths “in recent weeks” but didn’t say why public notification was delayed.
The city’s legionnaires tracker had not yet been updated by Friday evening.
Health officials said that notification of deaths sometimes arrive late if the person died in a neighboring jurisdiction.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin posted on social media that she is saddened by the deaths.
“During our hearing next Wednesday, the City Council will closely examine how this tragic outbreak occurred and what additional actions and policies are needed to better protect New Yorkers,” she said.
It is the second consecutive summer outbreak of the disease in New York City. Last year's cluster, centered in Harlem, killed seven people.
Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria, which can grow in the cooling towers atop buildings and spread through the water mist released by the systems' fans. It is treatable with antibiotics when caught early, health officials have said.
More than 75 cooling towers on the Upper East Side tested positive for the bacteria in an initial round of testing after the outbreak began, including at the Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The health department ordered building owners in the affected area to drain and disinfect their systems.
The deaths come after city health officials declared the Upper East Side outbreak over late last month.
Survivors of the outbreak and public health experts have blamed the city for not doing enough to prevent it. A Gothamist analysis published this month found that the health department inspected about 1,580 of the city's roughly 4,900 cooling towers in the first six months of 2026, well short of its goal of inspecting every tower at least once a year, despite pledges to double the ranks of inspectors after last year's Harlem outbreak.
More than 50 victims of the Harlem cluster filed lawsuits earlier this month against the city health department, the construction company Skanska and other subcontractors, accusing them of negligence.
Martin said there are now no patients hospitalized with the illness as part of this cluster and the last remaining patient has recovered and returned home.
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new york city
Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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