A Call to Mayor Mamdani for Safer Water in Every Apartment

Safe water means more than filling a glass

According to Gothamist’s October 6, 2026 report, Legionella was found in the water system at 185 Saint Mark’s Place, part of Staten Island’s Castleton Park Apartments. Two residents had been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease over the preceding year. Residents received a notice on September 28 saying the tap water was safe to drink, while advising precautions to avoid shower mist.

Think about what that asks of someone living there. The water can be acceptable for a glass at the kitchen sink while taking a shower requires a different precaution. A notice about water safety reaches into the most ordinary parts of a person’s day.

The CDC explains why: Legionella most commonly makes people sick when they breathe in tiny water droplets containing the bacteria. Less commonly, contaminated drinking water can enter the lungs accidentally, a process called aspiration.

Everyone deserves clean drinking water. Everyone also deserves a home where the water used for bathing receives serious attention. For a resident, those concerns belong together.

Residents cannot maintain a shared plumbing system

A person can follow a health notice. They cannot, from their apartment, manage the temperatures and water movement throughout a shared building system.

New York already recognizes that the response belongs at the building level. Its guidance on Legionnaires’ disease and building evaluations calls for owners to hire a qualified water system management team when an evaluation is required. The work includes examining the plumbing, assessing hazards and testing the water.

That responsibility matters particularly for people who would find changes to their bathing routine difficult. Advice has to come with practical help when someone cannot carry it out independently. Residents should be able to get a clear answer about what is being done and when they will receive the next update.

We believe the same standard should guide the longer-term response. Safe water should not depend on a resident understanding plumbing or being able to keep asking for information. The people responsible for a building need workable ways to care for the water inside it.

The work continues after remediation

Responding to detected bacteria is urgent. What happens afterward deserves attention too.

The CDC’s guidance for potable water systems warns that Legionella is likely to return after successful remediation if the underlying conditions that support its growth remain. Those conditions include water age, temperature, disinfectant levels, sediment and biofilm, the slimy material that can form on surfaces inside plumbing.

This is why building water management cannot end when an immediate response ends. The city’s own guidance advises owners to prepare a long-term water management plan after gaining control of Legionella.

Water movement is part of that continuing work. CDC guidance includes flushing low-flow piping and infrequently used fixtures, together with other controls. A sink in a little-used room, for example, does not receive the same use as a busy kitchen faucet. A flushing plan has to account for that difference.

None of this establishes what caused the Castleton Park findings. It explains why the broader discussion should include how buildings handle water that sits in their plumbing, before the next notice reaches residents.

Noah makes routine flushing automatic

Noah’s automated flushing system moves water through connected plumbing at programmed intervals. It can automate flushing at compatible sinks and drinking fountains, reducing the need for someone to run those fixtures manually each time.

For a building that already needs scheduled flushing, that changes how the work gets done. Staff can use a device to carry out the flushing rather than repeatedly sending someone to the fixture. The schedule must suit the building’s use and the requirements of its water management plan.

Noah is a flushing device, not a filter or a disinfectant treatment. Its relevance here is straightforward: the CDC identifies slow or absent water movement as one condition that supports Legionella growth, and Noah automates water movement where it is installed. Flushing one fixture is not evidence that the whole building’s water is safe. A confirmed problem still requires investigation and treatment.

New York should consider this kind of equipment because a maintenance plan needs a practical way to perform the work it calls for. Automation offers an option for routine flushing while the building’s team continues the rest of its water management responsibilities.

A request for City Hall

Mayor Mamdani, please ask the city’s health and housing teams to review automated fixture flushing for apartment buildings and give owners clear guidance on where it belongs in long-term water management. Equipment such as Noah deserves a place in that review.

The reason is the person living upstairs who wants to take a shower without wondering what has changed since the last notice. It is the resident who needs assistance bathing and cannot easily change a routine. Their needs should help shape the way we maintain buildings.

We have a tool that automates part of that maintenance. We want the people responsible for New York’s buildings to know it is available and understand where it fits.

If you oversee housing or facility water management, contact Noah to discuss automated flushing for your building.