NYS Senator Cordell Cleare read with great interest the Black Westchester articles recently published by Damon K. Jones concerning the Legionnaires situation in Westchester: The Hidden Health Risks for Black Families Living in Westchester’s Aging Buildings, and How to Prevent the Spread. Sen. Cleare serves the 30th NYS Senate District, which is primarily based in Harlem, but also includes portions of East Harlem, the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, Hamilton Heights, and Washington Heights. There was a significant outbreak in her Senate District over the Summer as well, so she wanted to share her experience and response to the outbreak, including the drafting of a new Statewide bill that would help all communities, and wrote the following op/ed for Black Westchester.
As the State Senator representing Central Harlem, the epicenter of this summer’s Legionnaires’ disease outbreak, which sickened 114 people and tragically caused seven to lose their lives, I’d like to thank Damon Jones for his recent piece, Legionnaires’ Outbreak Exposes Hidden Health Risks for Black Families Living in Westchester’s Aging Buildings (10/30/25). Mr. Jones speaks to the underlying and systemic issues of neglected infrastructure and unequal housing conditions, which make black and Latino communities disproportionately impacted by this waterborne illness.
What we experienced this summer in Harlem, in Westchester, and in Parkchester in the Bronx is a stark reminder of the serious and persistent health disparities in black and brown communities, and how aging and neglected infrastructure contribute greatly to the health and safety of our homes and workplaces
The fact is that individuals with compromised immune systems, respiratory illness like asthma, those who smoke, and the elderly are more susceptible to Legionnaires’ disease. Legionnaires’ is a severe form of pneumonia that can cause serious illness in those who contract it and has a fatality rate of 10%. Rates of asthma, comorbidities like heart disease and diabetes, and tobacco use are notably higher among individuals of color, placing them at greater risk.
Legionella, the waterborne bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, thrives in stagnant water and poorly maintained building and water distribution systems, leading to human exposure. Individuals can contract Legionnaires’ when water containing Legionella is inhaled or aspirated (goes down the wrong pipe). Legionella is commonly found in nature- in source water and soil. As water travels from lakes and reservoirs to treatment plants, the bacteria can escape and enter our vast, complex public water distribution systems, where the environment is favorable for Legionella to survive and thrive. When there are upset conditions like water main breaks, construction, heavy rainfall, and flooding, our plumbing systems and water-using equipment can be seeded with the bacteria from the distribution system. Once legionella infects our plumbing systems and equipment, we can be exposed to it in our homes, facilities, and buildings through showers, sinks, fountains, misters, hot tubs, pools, garden hoses, humidifiers, and cooling towers, among other points.
Given these realities, it is critical for both our public water distribution systems and our building and premise plumbing systems to be properly monitored and maintained to mitigate these risks. And while New York put some regulations in place a decade ago, they have proven insufficient to combat the spread of Legionnaires’. Outbreaks and cases have continued unabated, as many of us experienced this summer. New York State consistently ranks among the highest in Legionnaires’ cases each year in the United States.
We must take a proactive approach to protect public health and reduce the incidence of Legionnaires’ disease through comprehensive regulation, increased transparency, and public education, as Mr. Jones rightly calls for. That is why I introduced Senate bill 8499, along with my colleague, Assembly Housing Committee Chair Linda Rosenthal, to enhance public health and water quality measures to prevent Legionnaires’ disease, holistically from source to tap.
The bill would require water management plans to monitor, manage, and ensure adequate treatment of our water quality throughout public distribution systems and building water systems. The bill also requires stronger investigations of all cases and a dedicated public education campaign to raise awareness, especially among those who are most susceptible, so they are aware of the signs and symptoms and when to seek immediate treatment.
The legislation is modeled after a law successfully passed in New Jersey last year and regulations in place in Illinois, and is consistent with several best practice recommendations of national organizations and experts.
This call for urgent and comprehensive action was echoed in a recent national article in Circle of Blue, America’s Deadliest Waterborne Disease is Not Letting Up (11/11/25). Water treatment expert, Chad Seidel, said, “Legionella is the most substantial public health concern we are addressing, and [we] need to better address, related to drinking water… Nothing else comes close. Legionella is real and present… It is killing people…Everybody that uses water along the way- from the source all the way to the tap, the water utility to the customer- has to play their role in mitigating risks.”
New Yorkers deserve to know the water they drink and use every day is safe and will not make them and their loved ones sick, or worse, lead to death. We must act now to prevent future tragedies from this preventable illness from happening again.
Senator Cordell Cleare
(D- 30th Senate District in Harlem)
Chair, Senate Aging Committee
For more info, visit Senator Cleare’s website and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter).
