Arsenic Scare Turns Into Legionella Threat in Public Housing Complex

Days after the city found potentially dangerous levels of arsenic in the tap water at a Manhattan public housing development, officials this week said that additional tests did not detect a “discernible amount” of arsenic.

But the city has now disclosed the possibility of another danger in the water: Legionella, a potentially deadly bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease and is regularly found in New York City.

The “possible presence” of the bacteria was based on newly disclosed results from tests conducted in August, after residents at the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village complained of “cloudy” water, according to a spokesman for the mayor. The city is waiting on the results of additional tests conducted in more recent days to confirm whether Legionella is in the water.

People living at the housing development are still being told not to drink the tap water until the city receives and analyzes the new test results.

“When we are 100 percent comfortable that the water should be consumed by drinking, we will make that notification when we finish all the tests,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference on Thursday. “And we’re not going to be expeditious, we’re going to be thorough and make sure we do it right.”

There have been no reported cases of Legionnaires’ disease among residents at the development in the past year, according to the city.

The disclosure that Legionella may be in the tap water was yet another headache for the residents at the Jacob Riis Houses, who have been warned not to drink the tap water for a week. It underscored worries about the treatment of residents living in public housing, who have long dealt with crumbling infrastructure, lead, mold and a litany of other problems.

Legionella is not a new problem in the city, where water cooling tanks on top of buildings can become reservoirs for the bacteria. Legionnaires’ disease is often treatable with antibiotics if caught early, but it can cause severe illness or death among people with high health risks.

Officials with the New York City Health Department said in 2018 that between 200 and 700 cases of Legionnaires’ disease are reported every year, and that the rate is “increasing significantly.” An outbreak in the Bronx in May resulted in the death of at least one person and illness in 18 others.

In 2015, another outbreak in the Bronx sickened 138 people and left 16 dead.

Sharon Otterman contributed reporting.