{"id":346045,"date":"2026-09-14T05:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T05:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346045\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T05:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T05:14:09","slug":"new-york-orders-ten-south-bronx-cooling-towers-cleaned-by-monday-as-legionnaires-cluster-grows-to-nine-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346045\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Orders Ten South Bronx Cooling Towers Cleaned by Monday as Legionnaires Cluster Grows to Nine Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City health officials have ordered 10 South Bronx cooling towers<\/a> to be drained, cleaned, and disinfected by Monday after preliminary testing detected Legionella bacteria, and the community cluster in Melrose and Morrisania has grown to nine cases with one death.<\/p>\n

The order covers towers in ZIP codes 10451 and 10456, including one at 1 E. 161st St., the address of Yankee Stadium. CBS New York reported<\/a> that Boricua College’s Bronx campus, a Morrisania dialysis center and a PureGym location are also among the sites. The Health Department stressed that being inside those buildings carries no additional risk.<\/p>\n

For residents of the two neighborhoods, the immediate question is not whether to avoid a building. It is whether a cough and fever that started this week needs a chest X-ray today. Of the nine people diagnosed<\/a> as of Sept. 12, three remain hospitalized, four have been discharged, and one never needed admission.<\/p>\n

Ten Towers, Two ZIP Codes, One Deadline<\/p>\n

The city sampled every cooling tower in the affected area within 12 hours of identifying the cluster on Sept. 10. Preliminary PCR screening finished Sept. 12, and remediation orders went out the same day with a Sept. 14 completion deadline.<\/p>\n

PCR detects Legionella DNA but cannot tell whether the bacteria were alive, and it does not establish that any tower caused illness. Culture testing, which can take up to two weeks, is underway. The department has tested 24 towers in this investigation so far and says it will inspect any tower that tests positive to review compliance with local law.<\/p>\n

The city’s approach is to remediate first and confirm later, on the reasoning that waiting two weeks for culture results while a possible source keeps running is the larger risk. That is why the deadline is measured in days rather than weeks.<\/p>\n

Eight of the 10 towers were compliant with the 31-day testing requirement that took effect May 8. Two, at 820 Concourse Village West and 1265 Franklin Avenue, did not provide required testing information. Health Commissioner Dr. Alister F. Martin said that if a building owner was noncompliant, “there will be consequences and we will hold them accountable.”<\/p>\n

Who in Melrose and Morrisania Should Call a Doctor<\/p>\n

Legionnaires’ disease is a serious form of pneumonia caused by breathing in mist containing live Legionella. It does not spread from person to person, and it can be treated effectively with antibiotics when caught early.<\/p>\n

Symptoms usually begin two to 14 days after exposure and include fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, and shortness of breath. The Health Department is urging anyone who lives or works in the area, or has visited it since late August, to contact a health care provider immediately if flu-like symptoms appear. Residents who need help finding a provider, regardless of immigration or insurance status, can call 311 or 844-NYC-4NYC.<\/p>\n

Risk is not evenly distributed. Adults 50 and older, people who smoke or vape, people with chronic lung disease, people with weakened immune systems, and those taking immune-suppressing medication face higher odds of severe illness. That list matters in a neighborhood where a dialysis center sits inside the affected zone.<\/p>\n

Most people exposed to Legionella never become sick. It remains safe to shower, drink tap water and run air conditioners in both ZIP codes.<\/p>\n

A Second Cluster in a Summer Already Marked by One<\/p>\n

This is New York City’s second community cluster of 2026. The Upper East Side cluster identified in early July grew quickly, and the city declared that the exposure had ended<\/a> on July 31 after two weeks passed with no new symptom onsets. At that point, the department had counted 92 cases and seven deaths. The totals later rose to 94 cases and 11 deaths as of Aug. 28, all among patients who had been diagnosed weeks earlier, not from new transmission.<\/p>\n

That investigation shows why the Bronx count can still move. The city ultimately ordered 83 buildings to remediate and tested 183 cooling towers at 160 buildings. Fifty-nine towers were culture positive for live bacteria and 124 tested culture negative. No single tower has been publicly identified as the source.<\/p>\n

The timing is uncomfortable for the city. New Legionella testing rules for cooling towers took effect May 8, tripling how often building owners must sample while a tower is operating, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced additional prevention and enforcement measures<\/a> on Sept. 1. Since May 8, the department has conducted more than 900 cooling tower inspections, and more than $111,000 in fines had been paid as of Sept. 5. Citywide, 82 percent of cooling tower systems comply with monthly testing.<\/p>\n

Community health workers began canvassing on Sept. 11 and have engaged more than 400 residents and 46 organizations, attended six community events, and distributed more than 1,100 flyers and palm cards. Information is also going out through LinkNYC kiosks, radio, NotifyNYC, and local elected officials. An in-person town hall is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, at Metropolitan College in the Bronx.<\/p>\n

Several things remain unknown. The source of exposure has not been confirmed, culture results are pending, additional cases may still be diagnosed within the incubation window, and the department has not said whether either noncompliant building faces enforcement action. Updates are posted on the city’s Legionnaires’ disease information page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Key Questions Answered<\/p>\n

What is new? The city ordered 10 cooling towers in ZIP codes 10451 and 10456 to be cleaned and disinfected by Sept. 14 after preliminary Legionella detections, and the cluster grew from five to nine cases.<\/p>\n

Does a positive test mean a tower caused the outbreak? No. PCR screening detects bacterial DNA only. Culture results, which take up to two weeks, are needed to confirm live bacteria and any link to patients.<\/p>\n

Is it safe to visit these buildings? The Health Department says there is no additional risk from being inside any of the 10 buildings, and no risk from showering, drinking tap water or using air conditioners.<\/p>\n

What symptoms should residents watch for? Fever, chills, muscle aches, cough and shortness of breath, typically two to 14 days after exposure. Contact a provider promptly.<\/p>\n

Who is most at risk? People 50 and older, people who smoke or vape, people with chronic lung disease, and people with weakened immune systems or taking immune-suppressing medication.<\/p>\n

Is Legionnaires’ disease contagious? No. It spreads only by breathing in mist containing live bacteria, not from person to person.<\/p>\n

Where can residents ask questions? The Health Department is holding an in-person town hall Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Metropolitan College in the Bronx, and posts updates on its Legionnaires’ disease page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York City health officials have ordered 10 South Bronx cooling towers to be drained, cleaned, and disinfected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,129551,108457,129550,129549,9,24,63,129548,129547,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-346045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-cooling-tower-testing","tag-legionella-bacteria","tag-legionnaires-symptoms","tag-melrose-morrisania-cluster","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-cooling-towers","tag-ronx-legionnaires-disease","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}