New York City officials announced a suite of actions aimed at strengthening the city’s response to Legionnaires’ disease ahead of a City Council hearing this week. The measures focus on tighter oversight of cooling towers—structures that can harbor the Legionella bacteria responsible for the severe form of pneumonia.

Enhanced registration and tracking

The Department of Health will partner with the Department of Buildings to improve cooling‑tower registration and permit‑tracking systems. The collaboration will also seek out potentially unregistered towers that may have slipped through existing oversight.

Public‑access mapping tool

City officials plan to expand the online cooling‑tower lookup tool with a citywide mapping feature, allowing residents to view registered towers across all five boroughs. The new map is slated to launch by next spring.

Faster testing and enforcement

The administration is exploring quicker testing methods for Legionella bacteria, accelerating enforcement of cooling‑tower violations, and creating a scientific advisory panel to study tower technology and alternative cooling systems.

As of Saturday, health officials reported 94 cases linked to the recent Legionnaires’ cluster, with 11 deaths. No patients remain hospitalized, and the source of the illnesses has not yet been identified.

The announcement comes a day before a City Council hearing at City Hall, where council members are expected to question officials about the response and ongoing prevention efforts.

Original reporting: Brookhaven News – ABC7 New York — read the source article.