The dangerous bacteria responsible for the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Harlem last summer has been detected in one of the city’s largest apartment buildings, building officials and residents said.
Test results that came back this weekend indicated a harmful level of Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, was found in the water system of the 3333 Broadway apartment building in January, according to a Sunday night email from building management.
Over 100 cases of Legionnaires’ disease, a severe, frequently fatal form of pneumonia, were confirmed in Harlem last summer. At least five people died as a result. The disease is transmitted via contaminated mist and warm water, not person-to-person.
Two cases of Legionnaires’ disease were confirmed in 3333 Broadway within the past 12 months, according to an email from building management earlier this year. After confirmation of those cases earlier this year, testing for Legionnaires’ disease was carried out in January in two of the building’s five towers, Towers A and B.
At a tenant meeting on Jan. 13, building management refused to test the building’s other three towers, towers C, D and E, even if test results from Towers A and B came back positive, according to a resident and building management communication. Resident Stephanie Geyer said she and other tenants believe all five towers should be treated “to protect the health and safety of all tenants.”
A spokesperson for the the building said the reason only Towers A and B were tested is because they share a hot water distribution system and the previous confirmed cases were found in Tower B. The building’s other three towers have their own hot water distribution system, the spokesperson said.
Because the bacteria grows in warm water, there have been periods of time where certain residents have been directed to only take cold showers this winter, said Council Member Shaun Abreu, who represents residents in the building.
“For the past month, residents of 3333 Broadway have had to take cold showers in the middle of winter while waiting to hear if their building has Legionella,” Abreu said. “Unfortunately, this weekend it was confirmed to be in the water supply for two of the building’s towers.”
Abreu called Legionnaire’s disease “a serious public health concern,” adding that “residents deserve a comprehensive treatment plan that makes them confident their water is safe.”
The council member said he’s committed to ensuring that building management develops a suitable treatment plan “immediately,” that his office is actively supporting residents during the situation and will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds.
A spokesperson for 3333 Broadway said the building will undergo a treatment and remediation process prescribed by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
“We have already begun the initial steps of this process and are working diligently to comply with DOHMH’s extremely tight timeline,” an email from building management reads. “At certain times during the treatment process we expect to have several water service shutdowns, during which time we will issue every tenant affected an alternate source of water for cooking and drinking and notify you at least a day in advance.”
Geyer said she and other residents are still looking for confirmation that building management will test or treat all five residential towers in the building and an answer on how long the treatment process will take.
3333 Broadway, located in the Manhattanville section of Harlem near City University, opened as Riverside Park Community in 1976 with over 1,000 low-income units across five towers. There is a large senior population, who are most at risk from complications of Legionnaires’ disease, as well as generations of families occupying multiple units.
Geyer said tenants are asking the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to provide free mobile Legionnaires’ disease testing on-site or at a nearby NYC Health + Hospitals location.
