NYC expands Legionnaires' safeguards after 11 deaths in Upper East Side cluster

New York City unveiled a broad plan to strengthen its response to Legionnaires' disease after 11 deaths and more than 90 cases linked to the Upper East Side summer cluster. The steps include expanding the cooling tower lookup tool into a citywide map with tower history and compliance data, exploring proactive measures such as a scientific advisory panel to evaluate new cooling technologies, appointing a chair to lead the effort, accelerating enforcement by scheduling tower-violation hearings within 15 days, and faster identification of unregistered cooling towers. The administration says the aim is to prevent future outbreaks and increase transparency and enforcement as officials prepare for a City Hall oversight hearing. As of Aug 31, no Legionnaires' patients remained in hospital.