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Speaker Menon criticizes Health Department's response to Legionnaires cluster
Summary
Speaker Julie Menon said the Health Department waited for positive tests before ordering disinfecting, reported 59 cases citywide and said addresses of 31 buildings in her East Side Manhattan district were disclosed only this weekend; she said she has repeatedly pressed the health commissioner and will hold another town hall.
Speaker Julie Menon said she is "very concerned" about the city Health Department's handling of a Legionnaires cluster and urged more proactive steps to protect residents, especially seniors on Manhattan's East Side.
"From the get go, they should have mandated that the building is to disinfect rather than wait," Menon said, adding that the department continued to wait for test results before ordering disinfecting and that each day of delay risks more illnesses. She said there are "59 cases" and that addresses for 31 buildings in her district were disclosed only that weekend.
Menon said she has written a "very strong letter" to the health commissioner, speaks with him regularly, and is convening additional town halls. When asked if she had recently spoken with the commissioner, she said she had and reiterated that the department has not followed the course she has been urging — proactively ordering building owners to disinfect — and that disinfecting is straightforward and not expensive.
The transcript records Menon's criticism and a description of case counts and disclosures as her assertions; the Health Department did not respond in the recorded remarks and no departmental statement appears in the transcript. Menon framed the situation as particularly dangerous for older residents, noting a higher risk of serious outcomes from Legionnaires disease.
Next steps: Menon said she will continue town halls and communications with the health commissioner; the transcript does not record any formal council directive or Health Department response.
