Legionnaires' disease sickens 2 at North Shore Towers on Queens-Nassau border

Legionnaires' disease has sickened two residents of North Shore Towers, the sprawling apartment complex on the Queens-Nassau border, and  the health department of New York City has ordered an evaluation of the water system there.

The cases are both of people who live in the apartment building at 271-10 Grand Central Pkwy. in Queens, according to a health department letter sent to residents. Legionnaires' bacteria, Legionella, is spread by breathing in mist from faucets, cooling towers or showers, and is not contagious. It causes a serious kind of lung infection.

Each of the North Shore resident cases was within the past 12 months, according to the health department; its spokesman William Fowler, citing privacy concerns, declined to provide dates of diagnosis or demographic details of the patients. 

The city has seen a wave of Legionnaires' outbreaks over the past two years, including at least five deaths. The city typically has between 200 to 700 diagnoses of the disease annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Legionnaires' disease "is on the rise" nationwide.

The city health department does not think that Legionnaire’s is being spread in the air outside at North Shore Towers, as happened in a recent outbreak on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Fowler said. Rather, he said, the department is focusing its investigation on the building’s internal water system, which could spread the bacteria through mist, typically from a shower.

During the evaluation of the North Shore Towers water system — done by a contractor to be hired by the complex, under health department oversight — those in vulnerable groups should take extra precautions, the health department said. That includes those who are 50 or older, and those who vape, smoke, have chronic lung disease or have weakened immune systems.

Precautions include taking baths instead of showers, while letting the bathtub fill slowly and minimizing the time in the bathroom while the tub is filling, the health department said. Another suggestion is to start with cold water when heating up water for cooking, coffee or tea.

The timeline of the evaluation varies but typically takes several months, Fowler said. 

The department is hosting a community meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the North Shore Towers movie theater.

North Shore Towers, which comprises three, 33-story residential buildings on the Queens-Nassau border near the Grand Central Parkway and the Town of North Hempstead, has nearly 2,000 apartments and thousands more residents. It is a gated community co-op with a golf course, tennis courts, pools, a shopping center, Zumba and other amenities. 

A voicemail and emails to the North Shore Towers management office seeking comment Monday were not returned.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.