RIVERHEAD, NY — August 3, 2026 — Courthouse visitors and personnel, nearby residents and workers, and LIRR customers may have unknowingly inhaled Legionella bacteria. A contaminated cooling tower atop the NYS Supreme Court building at 1 Court Street in Riverhead, near Griffing Avenue, tested positive during routine testing on July 27, prompting a critical public safety warning from veteran New York attorney Ronald Katter.

While Suffolk County health officials quickly initiated disinfection protocols and shut down the building's internal air dampers, the risk remains an outdoor public concern. Commercial cooling towers regulate building temperatures by exhausting water vapor, a fine, microscopic mist, into the surrounding atmosphere. This means the bacteria-laden water vapor was dispersed directly into the public air, potentially exposing anyone using the nearby Griffing Avenue parking lots, waiting at the adjacent transit hubs, or living in the immediate neighborhood.

"Many people think they are safe because they never stepped inside the courthouse, but that is a dangerous misconception," said Ronald Katter, founder of the Katter Law Firm. "Cooling towers breathe outward. This invisible plume of vapor can travel on local wind currents, meaning it’s a localized community issue. Anyone who frequented the Griffing Avenue corridor in late July needs to know what symptoms to watch for, and they need to understand that their right to a safe public environment may have been compromised."

Key Public Safety Information for the Media:
The Localized Risk: Explain to your audience how cooling towers disperse airborne water droplets, putting outdoor pedestrians, commuters, and nearby neighbors at risk, not just courthouse employees.
Symptoms to Watch: Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia. Anyone in the area experiencing high fever, severe cough, chills, or shortness of breath should seek medical testing immediately.
Your Legal Rights: Public entities have a strict duty to maintain equipment safely. If citizens were exposed due to maintenance lapses, their legal rights to health, safety, and compensation may have been violated.


Media Availability:
Ronald Katter is available for immediate interviews to provide a clear public service breakdown of how cooling tower dispersion works, what steps exposed individuals should take next, and how residents can protect both their health and their legal rights. Mr. Katter brings deep legal and medical baseline familiarity to this incident, having successfully represented numerous clients across New York who have been sickened or injured as a result of Legionnaires' disease outbreaks.

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