NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The family of an 88-year-old Upper East Side man who died after contracting Legionnaires' earlier this month called the disease that has sickened dozens in the neighborhood an "invisible monster" on Tuesday, as her attorney announced that they are considering filing a lawsuit.
Ida Goldstein, wife of Robert, said that her husband had a positive check-up with his doctor only two weeks before he became seriously ill from exposure to Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease.
"His lungs weren't working anymore, it happened so quickly. His kidneys shut down, his body was just shutting down," she said at a press conference, recounting the time she spent by his bedside as he was attached to a ventilator in the ICU. "Something you don't see, an invisible monster, a vapor, that just went into his lungs and just took him away from me," Mrs. Goldstein continued.
Attorney Ronald Katter said that it appears Mr. Goldstein contracted Legionnaires' as he sat near an open window in the family apartment in Yorkville. While the city did not include their building in the positive Legionella test, he said that cooling towers on other buildings are close to their apartment.
“The NYC Health Department has responded rapidly and aggressively to this to this Legionnaires’ cluster on the Upper East," the department said in a statement. "With only two confirmed cases, we launched our investigation and directed every building with an initial positive test result to immediately [clean] and disinfect its cooling tower. These actions have saved lives. We’ve also been holding regular town halls, elected briefings, press briefings, and updating the public daily."
"We will learn more as our investigation unfolds and look forward to updating our existing policies and procedures to preventing future clusters," the health department said. "For now, our minds are focused on identifying a source and holding accountable anyone found out of compliance with local laws.”
The City Council held an oversight hearing on Tuesday to preview future legislative solutions that could aid the city's outbreak response.
“New Yorkers deserve clear, timely information about the risks in their community and confidence that every cooling tower is complying with the law," Council Speaker Julie Menin said in a statement. "Oversight needs to be done to examine the City’s response, strengthen enforcement and public notifications, and determine what future legislation is needed to ensure New Yorkers can be reliably informed and proactively protected from future health emergencies.”
