Cuomo Renews Call for State DOH Investigation After Harlem Legionnaires’ Outbreak Traced to City-Owned Hospital
Harlem, NY - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, candidate for Mayor of New York City, today renewed his call for the New York State Department of Health to conduct an independent investigation into the City’s actions before and during the Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak in Harlem.
This comes in light of new reports identifying a City-owned hospital as the source of the cluster, which has claimed seven lives and infected more than 100 residents. This was confirmed by the city in a Friday afternoon news dump before the holiday weekend.
“New Yorkers deserve complete confidence that the regulations designed to protect their health are being followed—whether by private landlords or City government itself,” Governor Cuomo said. “With the source of this outbreak now tied to a city-run facility, it is all the more important that an independent review be undertaken to ensure accountability, transparency, and public trust.”
Under state and city law, building owners are required to test water cooling towers for Legionella bacteria every 90 days and take immediate corrective action if contamination is found. Cuomo noted that the involvement of a City-run hospital underscores the importance of an impartial investigation into whether these obligations were met.
“When we faced the Legionnaires’ outbreak in the Bronx a decade ago, the State acted quickly to contain the crisis and worked with the City to create the nation’s first comprehensive cooling tower regulations,” Cuomo said. “Those rules were designed precisely to prevent a recurrence of this scale. If those safeguards were not followed here, we need to understand why and take corrective measures without delay.”
This is the most severe Legionnaires’ outbreak New York City has seen since 2015, when 16 New Yorkers lost their lives and more than 120 were hospitalized. In response to that tragedy, the State established rigorous standards to protect public health and prevent future outbreaks.
“Every New Yorker has a right to safe housing, safe hospitals, and safe communities,” Cuomo said. “That right depends on strong safeguards and a government willing to enforce them. The families impacted by this outbreak, and the entire Harlem community, deserve a full and independent review so we can learn the lessons and make sure this does not happen again.”
Looking ahead, Cuomo pledged that as Mayor he would strengthen oversight and coordination between City and State health authorities: “As Mayor, I will ensure the City works hand in glove with the State Department of Health to enforce these life-saving regulations, with no exceptions. Public safety includes public health, and New Yorkers should never have to question whether their government is doing everything possible to protect them.”
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