Accomplished author dies in outbreak

Christine Roussel, 87, a renowned author and archivist at Rockefeller Center, died on July 16 during a Legionnaires' disease outbreak on the Upper East Side that killed 11 people.

“She was also still working. She was an archivist as Rockefeller Center archives, and she got Legionnaires.”

Her final wish: find the source

Before she died, Roussel told her son to find out how she contracted the disease. Her family remained hopeful she would recover until the end.

“She said, 'please Sue, please promise me that you will find out how this happened to me.'”

Family files legal claim against city

Two months after her death, the family served New York City with a notice of claim alleging the city failed to enforce a law requiring building owners to test cooling towers for Legionella bacteria every 31 days.

City's oversight was understaffed

The family's attorney says the Department of Health lacked enough staff to inspect buildings when the testing law was created. The city should share responsibility with building owners.

“They did not have the required amount of people out on the streets to check this.”

Another outbreak in the Bronx

A current Legionnaires' outbreak in the South Bronx has also turned deadly, adding urgency to the city's response and raising questions about systemic failures.

City claims it's enforcing safety rules

NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin says the city is holding building owners and cooling tower operators accountable through daily, weekly, and monthly inspections.

“The second component is our job in making sure that these cooling tower operators are following the law and when they are not we hold them accountable.”

Family questions city's accountability

Marc Roussel says the city's oversight was insufficient and his mother was taken from them too early. The family still doesn't know which cooling tower caused her exposure.

“She was taken from us way too early and we don't really have an answer as to where it came from, why, was it just negligence?”

Second family to sue the city

The Roussel family is the second to take legal action against New York City over the outbreak. The Department of Health says it responded urgently and is reviewing the notice of claim.