Public Advocate Jumaane Williams statement read into record
Chair Schulman reads Public Advocate Jumaane Williams's statement calling for higher fines for cooling tower violations, noting current fines of $1,000-$2,000 are insufficient. Williams calls for proactive steps and notes the issue has disproportionately impacted Black and brown communities.
I'm going to read a statement now from the public advocate, Jumaane Williams.
New Yorkers are some of the most vigilant people on earth.
I know if they know what the reporting requirements are, they will make sure that their landlords are following them.
Good morning.
My name is Jumaane D.
Williams, and I am the public advocate for the city of New York.
I want to thank the chairs and the members of the Committee on Health for holding this hearing today.
People were very concerned on the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
This is the second consecutive year of deadly Legionnaires outbreaks in summers in New York are only getting hotter.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
It is past time we implement measures that protect residents from a disease that is both preventable and predictable.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
After 94 cases and 11 fatalities this year, I am concerned that current enforcement measures for cooling tower regulations are not enough.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
Under the 2015 law, which was implemented after an outbreak that killed 15 individuals, all building owners must register their water cooling towers with the city and propose a maintenance plan to the city every three months to prevent and control the growth of Legionella.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
In the aftermath of last year's outbreak, the council passed Local Law 159, requiring more testing for the Legionella bacteria by building owners, increasing the frequency from 90 days to every 30 days.
They should have as much information as those who are comfortable with it.
If you live or work in a building with a cooling tower, your landlord should be required to notify you.
New Yorkers are some of the most vigilant people on earth.
As DOHMH Commissioner Dr.
I know if they know what the reporting requirements are, they will make sure that their landlords are following them.
Martin pointed out at the July 6th Legionnaires Disease Virtual Town Hall, we haven't had time to see the most recent measures take full effect.
People were very concerned on the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
Even so, some public health experts are skeptical that more testing is the solution.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
They say building owners often test immediately after a deep clean, which means that they draw negative test results, even if the cooling tower had been rife with bacteria.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
in the weeks leading up to the test.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
Dr.
Martin also said DOHMH had identified two building owners in the impacted zip code that are considered particularly bad actors, one of whom had not registered their cooling tower with the city as required by law.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
With persistent outbreaks in the face of regulatory changes, we've seen that traditional water regulations can fall short.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
When water enters a private building, the responsibility of public health is shared by the city and the landlord.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
Unfortunately, financial incentives are oftentimes needed in order to discourage bad actors and encourage landlords to prioritize the health and safety of their residents.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
I believe the current level of fines are not strict enough.
As it stands, landlords are fined $1,000 for a first offense and $2,000 for each additional offense.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
More meaningful, effective enforcement calls for higher fines.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
For this reason, my office is submitting legislation that would raise the level of fines.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
But even before that change is considered, the city must take proactive steps to ensure that outbreaks like this one do not happen again.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
I call on the City Council to push forward the preventive bills heard at today's hearing and to hold landlords accountable by increasing fines.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
For cooling tower violations.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
Financial incentive together with more frequent inspections can help prevent future outbreaks.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
I would be remiss if I didn't add my voice to the frustration that in past years this issue has disproportionately impacted black and brown communities in the Bronx and Harlem.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
Several survivors and families are now suing the city over the outbreak last year.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
This year's Upper East Side
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
Cluster reinforces the understanding that Legionnaires is a risk to all.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
In honor of those we've lost and those still concerned, we must be proactive, not reactive in preventing outbreaks.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
Thank you.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
The other statements that we have we're going to submit for the record, and so now I'm going to call up the health department to give their testimony.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.
We were overwhelmed with inquiries about whether people should be able to go to the Upper East Side.