Overview
- Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, attorneys led by Ben Crump and supporters including Rev. Al Sharpton filed four lawsuits against New York City, NYC Health + Hospitals and contractors alleging failures to test, treat and maintain cooling towers and delays in warning residents.
- Governor Kathy Hochul signed the legislation on Aug. 5, 2026, requiring twice-yearly cooling tower certifications, faster remediation after detections and higher fines for violations including penalties that can exceed $12,000 when deaths or serious injuries result.
- City health officials say the recent Upper East Side cluster sickened about 92 people and was linked to seven deaths and that teams drained and disinfected implicated towers and eliminated the immediate exposure risk by late July.
- Investigations have tied the 2025 Central Harlem outbreak, which sickened roughly 118 people and killed seven, to multiple rooftop cooling towers including units at Harlem Hospital and the city public health lab with genetic testing used to link tower isolates to patient cases.
- The city’s Law Department said it will review the claims, City Council leaders scheduled a September oversight hearing, and plaintiffs are seeking large damages as families describe lasting medical, financial and emotional harms from the outbreaks.