Amid an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that has claimed the lives of six people, New York City health officials said 110 violations have been issued to Upper East Side building owners for failing to comply with rules for cooling tower maintenance. There have been 82 cooling towers test posit ive for the Legionella bacteria as of Wednesday. Of those, the building facing the most violations is 1520 York Avenue, according to city officials. That building, on the corner of East 80th Street, received nine violations and was fined $9,000 for failing to follow the new city rules requiring Legionella testing every 31 days, city officials said. That rule took effect in May. The building also did not have the required plan in place to maintain its cooling tower. These violations are in the most serious category, considered a public health hazard. The operator responsible for the cooling tower at the building told NBC New York they only recently took over operation of it and are working to make sure every rule is being followed. That includes hiring multiple companies to test and clean the cooling tower, as well as installing new tech to ensure safety. The building tenant stated that the property managers bore some responsibility because they were previously in charge of maintenance of the cooling tower when some of the violations occurred. The management company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Of all the cooling towers in the area that tested positive, the Health Department found issues with 60% of them, according to the city. The full list of violators is expected to be announced Thursday. Of the 110 violations issued, 15 buildings received at least one public health hazard, officials said. Multiple buildings, including 1520 York Avenue, got more than one public health hazard violation. Another 50 are critical violations, which include failing to report the results after testing. There were also general violations, like conducting testing but sending in the results late. The only building that received more violations than 1520 York Avenue was a residential building that had an unregistered cooling tower, according to the Health Department. That tower tested negative for the Legionella bacteria, however. Building owners face fines of $2,000 per month for failing to report their Legionnaires’ test results. Owners looking to appeal their fines can do so at a city OATH hearing. It was not clear exactly how many buildings have received violations, nor was it known which tower or towers made people sick. That information will come from final DNA results expected in August, according to city health officials. The Health Department said it tested more than 180 cooling towers in the area. Officials said all the towers have since been cleaned and disinfected. As of Wednesday, 90 people had been sickened with Legionnaires’ disease as a result of the Upper East Side cluster, six of whom were still in the hospital. The city has said it is confident the source of the outbreak has been eliminated, as no new cases have been reported since mid-July. ...read more read less