Brownsville NYCHA tenants awaits water testing results following 2 confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease
Tenants living at a Brownsville housing project says they are still waiting for the water testing results from their building following two confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease.
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Tenants living at a Brownsville housing project says they are still waiting for the water testing results from their building following two confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease.
Residents of Building 3 at the Langston Hughes Houses on Sutter Avenue attended a Jan. 31 meeting with officials from both NYCHA and the Department of Health. There, they were told the building's water system would be tested on Thursday.
As of Tuesday, the results had still not been made public. Many tenants tell News 12 they have taken matters into their own hands by avoiding the water entirely.
The Department of Health says the first tenant tested positive in July and later died. As of last week, another tenant had contracted the illness and they said the case was still ongoing.
"They've been hanging signs, but we weren't aware until somebody had to die over this situation. So I just want justice for everyone who has been affected," said a tenant who wishes to remain anonymous.
It's not confirmed if the two tenants contracted the illness from the building or elsewhere, which is why tenants say they hope to see the results soon.
"I'm not drinking the water. That's for sure. I'm not taking hot showers, I take baths, I boil water, that's all I can do until we get those results," said Janine Joseph, a tenant who has lived in the building for 54 years.
News 12 reached out to NYCHA to learn more about the timeline for the water testing results. They referred to the Department of Health and are still waiting to hear back.
