Two months before Legionnaires’ disease struck the South Bronx, Queens had a bout with the sometimes fatal illness spread by contaminated cooling towers. But unlike our neighboring borough, Queens soon had its outbreak under control and the 13 cases concentrated in Flushing were treated effectively.
There was little public fanfare when three people who live in the Bland Houses, a NYCHA development, contracted Legionnaires’ back in April and May. The bacteria was then discovered in the water system of the Bland Houses senior center.
Other residents in the Flushing area also fell victim to the tuberculosis-type illness.
In mid-May the city Health Department issued an alert on the 13 cases in Queens, which marked a sharp rise from the four cases reported in May 2014 and May 2013. According to elected officials in Queens and NYCHA, the housing agency took immediate steps to control the outbreak, which ended without leaving behind any fatalities or new cases.
What a contrast with the Bronx, where the escalating number of cases and deaths played out against a political landscape where the mayor and the governor were again at odds.
But even before Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo began vying for control of the crisis, the disease made the record books as the worst occurrence in the city’s history—and nobody below 96th Street in Manhattan seemed to be watching.
Where were the top news stories as the Legionnaires’ count climbed steadily to 86 cases and the death toll reached seven? It was only when the numbers hit that level Aug. 4 that two of the city’s largest dailies finally reported on Page 1 that the Bronx was under siege. And the tally worsened.
It’s hard not to wonder how the outbreak would have been handled if it had occurred in Manhattan at the height of the summer tourist season.
The South Bronx, part of the country’s poorest congressional district, has a large percentage of unhealthy residents. The borough also tends to be somewhat invisible outside of the crime coverage that dominates stories about the Bronx.’
Perhaps more aggressive reporting on the Legionnaires’ cluster would have galvanized government agencies to act faster to contain the damage.
Instead we had the mayor and the governor holding dueling news conferences on the crisis before announcing joint emergency action this week.
What if Queens had been faced with a large-scale health emergency like the Bronx?
We can’t help but think it might have taken a while for the rest of the city to hear our story, too.
