Transcript: De Blasio Administration Provides Update on City's Steps to Protect New Yorkers From Legionnaires' Disease

July 30, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio: I want to give you and update on a recent series of cases of Legionnaire’s disease in the South Bronx. We spoke about this yesterday and we want to update you on what’s happened in the last 24 hours. I want to say at the outset, people have to understand that this is a disease that can be treated. It is, thank god, not contagious. People who have it do not spread it. It can be treated and can be treated well if caught early. So I want people to understand the facts and not be alarmed by assumptions. Thank God, this is a disease – again, not contagious, and is treatable with antibiotics. 

I want to thank Deputy Mayors Tony Shorris and Lillian Barrios-Paoli, who have been working on the response to this situation. And, of course, you’ll hear in a moment from our health commissioner, Dr. Mary Basset. I also want to thank Dr. Ram Raju, the president of the HHC, and Joe Esposito, our commissioner for the Office of Emergency Management. He’ll be here for other questions as well after we discuss this topic. 

Now Legionnaires is a common type of pneumonia caused by the bacterium Legionella. So you hear referred to by both Legionnaires and Legionella. Hundreds of cases are successfully treated each year in New York City. And most cases occur when people inhale contaminated mists from building rooftop cooling systems. Since July 10th, we have identified 46 cases, all in the South Bronx, and there have been two deaths – 46 cases since July 10th. 

We’re aggressively investigating and testing all possible sources. So we are testing not only the areas where we’ve the immediate reports, but surrounding buildings where there are water towers and cooling systems. Two rooftop cooling systems in the area have tested positive. So two specifically, out of all the ones we have looked at so far – only two have tested positive for Legionella – one at a private facility called Concourse Plaza Housing Units, the other at Lincoln Hospital. The decontamination process is already underway at both sites. So, at both sites decontamination is occurring as we speak and will be completed by tomorrow afternoon. We’ll continue to test other sources, again, we will take any report and follow up in that area, but we’ll continue to look at any building that we think of worthy of testing in that surrounding area. 

There is therefore no reason for alarm because the situation is being addressed, but it’s good everyone to understand this disease and be able to respond if they might have the symptoms or if anyone they know would. And it’s a reminder, a very important reminder, that some people are at higher risk – people who are a little older, folks who have had lung diseases, smokers, or anyone with an already weakened immune system. So some people are clearly at more risk than others. The symptoms, again – and Dr. Basset will go into more detail, but symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath. And folks with those symptoms should seek medical help, either from their own doctor or from an Emergency Room. It is much better if anyone thinks they may have the symptoms of Legionnaires to go find, go get treatment – better safe than sorry. 

We’ll continue to be vigilant, we’ll continue to follow up on any and all reports, and ensure that this issue is addressed swiftly, and also ensure, of course, that anyone who believes they have the symptoms is given the proper treatment.

A few words in Spanish –

[Mayor de Blasio speaks in Spanish]

With that, I want welcome our health commissioner – she’ll give you further updates – Dr. Mary Basset.

Commissioner Mary Bassett, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As we reported yesterday, and then the mayor just discussed, this is an ongoing investigation, so all the numbers that we give you are subject to change. We now have, as of midnight last night, 46 reported case, of which two were patients who died with Legionnaire’s infections – with Legionnaire’s pneumonia. 

We’re now beginning hospital checks every day, so we are going to be able to check daily on patient status updates, and although the number of cases has gone up, this doesn’t mean that these are cases newly diagnosed since we last reported on this cluster. These are – some of them are cases that have just come to our attention, and as we investigate we find earlier cases that hadn’t been previously reported. The majority of these cases are among older adults, people with pre-existing medical conditions – this is what we find with Legionnaire’s disease. People who have other diagnoses and are immunocompromised are more susceptible to infection and are more likely to have bad outcomes. 

I want to reiterate that most New Yorkers are not at risk of contracting Legionnaire’s disease. It is not communicable from person to person, and those at risk, people who are older, who have underlying diseases, who have symptoms, and the symptoms include, cough, fever, headache, muscle pains, chills. You should see a doctor if any of these symptoms develop, because this is a very treatable disease – treatable with common antibiotics. It is spread through contaminated mist, it lives in warm water, and, so, I want to make it clear that this is not about water towers and our drinking water. There is no worry about our water supply. We are concerned about cooling towers, which release warm mist. The water supply in the South Bronx remains entirely safe. It is refreshing. It is the best hydration option. Usually we see more Legionella in the summer and the fall, and one of the reasons is the mist from the cooling towers is more likely to be expelled during these hot months and the water temperature is more likely to be conducive to the growth of bacteria during hot months. 

So, we typically see two or three clusters a year. The last cluster that we saw was in Flushing, Queens in April of this year. We had, before that, a cluster in Co-Op City. And we have had our disease detectives out. We have, as you’ve heard from the mayor, been testing cooling towers in the area. These are usually on the roofs of commercial buildings. And we have done testing on six – on a total of 20 locations. Today, we went out to an additional 10 locations. So, we have 20 known locations now with cooling towers, this number may change, and we’re working to identify other locations and evaluate those locations.

We are sending all of these to be tested for Legionnaire’s disease, and of course we act rapidly to remediate. Two locations have been ordered to develop short- and long-term plans for decontaminating their water towers. Lincoln Hospital, as you’ve heard, began overnight, taking initial steps to disinfect the cooling tower where the Legionella bacteria was found. They used a disinfectant and continuously flushed the system, and we think this is – this has done substantial in reducing risk. We will be re-testing the water from this cooling tower. Further assessments will be done by Lincoln, its consultants, and the health department.

The other location at Concourse Plaza has also begun remediation and we are getting full cooperation from the owners at that site. And as we go forward, we will act promptly to ensure remediation at all these sites. 

Mayor: I just want to, while you have everyone, explain that it doesn’t linger long in the air.

Commissioner Bassett: This is something that’s spread through warm water mist. It travels according to wind patterns and is rapidly dispersed in the air. The typical individual has no – nothing to worry about in terms of breathing the air.

Mayor: Great, thanks very much. Let’s take questions on this topic, then we’ll take questions on other topics.

Question: I don’t quite remember what Concourse Plaza, what type of facility – is that a residential facility or – what is that exactly? 

Mayor: On Concourse Plaza?

Commissioner Bassett: Yeah, it’s –

Mayor: Describe it.

Commissioner Bassett: Yeah, it’s a commercial facility. Most of the places that have these cooling towers, which are used for ventilation, for air conditioning, and sometimes for power are commercial developments. And it is a mixture of office buildings and it also has a movie multiplex. I want to be clear, with both of these locations, we have no evidence of clustering of cases from these locations. This is a very dispersed outbreak, that’s why we’re looking at every cooling tower we can find in the area.

Mayor: I’m sorry. And I think I said residential wrongly, so just to clarify, it’s commercial –

Commissioner Bassett: Commercial –

Mayor: Entirely.

Commissioner Bassett: Commercial, not residential – it’s possible that some residential establishments have cooling towers. If they have a cooling tower, we’ll find it and we’ll test it.

Question: Dr. Bassett, how are you picking towers to test?

Commissioner Bassett: How are we finding them? 

Question: How are you picking them?

Commissioner Bassett: Well, no we’re looking for all of them in the geographic area. And so we use aerial photography and look for cooling towers on the roofs, and then when we go there we may find more cooling towers and – and then we will test them. Our goal is to identify all the cooling towers and test them all. We don’t know the source of this outbreak, but in recent – in recent months we have seen outbreaks that were associated with cooling towers. That’s why we’re focusing on them.

Question: So only in the South Bronx?

Commissioner Bassett: That’s correct.

Mayor: Only in the South Bronx.

Commissioner Bassett: This is all in the South Bronx.

Unknown: No, but [inaudible].

Commissioner Bassett: No, well I mentioned ones before, there was one in Co-Op City, there was one before then in Flushing Queens, but the one that we’re talking about today, the one that is still be actively investigated, with 46 cases now identified, is in the South Bronx. That doesn’t mean everyone who has Legionella is from the South Bronx. This, as the Mayor said, is a very common infection, it is the common causes of pneumonia. We have two or three hundred cases of Legionella infection every year that results in hospitalizations. 

Question: [inaudible]

Mayor: Hold on, hold on, hold on – let me just do the calling.

Question: Commissioner, if you could, in terms of the illnesses and people getting sickened, are these people getting exposed to the mist coming from the towers or contaminated water that comes through their sink?

Commissioner Bassett: This not related to contaminated water through a sink. That can happen with Legionella. That doesn’t appear to be the case here. The reason that we believe that, based on our understanding of the epidemiology, is that we have no clustering of cases by building – they are much more dispersed than that.

Question: So this is the breeze from the rooftops?

Commissioner Bassett: Yes, that’s right and floats around.

Mayor: And again, but for a limited.

Commissioner Bassett: A limited period of time.

Mayor: It’s important to understand, for a limited period of time before it just is dispersed [inaudible]

Commissioner Bassett: And it falls to the ground.

Mayor: Let’s go do this side, and then I’ll come over to the other side. Go ahead, Gloria.

Question: Are there any additional concerns about the contamination in Lincoln Hospital considering people who are there and there immune systems might be –

Commissioner Bassett: I want to make it completely clear that there is no evidence of contamination at Lincoln Hospital.

Mayor: In the hospital –

Commissioner Bassett: In the hospital – people aren’t acquiring infection in the hospital. Dr. Raju and his team have looked carefully at this. No employees, no patients in the hospital have acquired Legionnaires there. They have acquired it in the neighborhood. We don’t fully understand how, but we’re actively investigating it in the most likely source will be a cooling tower.

Mayor: Jen.

Question: Just so we’re clear, so you have identified two places that have Legionnaire’s, but that’s not what’s – those are not the sources? You’re still looking for?
Commissioner Bassett: We – we don’t – we would – in order to establish it as a source we would have to say that the species of Legionnaires in that cooling tower is linked to one that causes human disease in a person. We don’t have that information yet. We may be able to establish it, but the investigation is still on going and we have not established a source.
Mayor: Let me – let me jump in for a second. Just let me back up – just – just want to clarify. First of all, we do know that what we’re dealing with is in one area of the city and it’s a pretty compact area. Second of all, again as you heard, in terms of Lincoln Hospital, it does not come through the water, it can only come through the air that is dispersed out of the cooling towers, the mist that’s dispersed out of them. So, we know we have a localized problem. We found two sites of concern, those are being decontaminated and as the commissioner often invokes, the disease detectives, like our police detectives, put the pieces together to try and figure out what’s going on so we can address it fully.  But the other important thing here is we know that anyone with the symptoms can get treatment right away, and in the vast majority of cases they’ll be fine. The exceptions can be, with, as I mentioned, folks who are already, unfortunately, suffering from health challenges, particularly immune system challenges. Those folks will have particular problems if they get this infection. But for the vast majority of New Yorkers, if they were even exposed, this can be addressed very well and very quickly, so long as they seek medical treatment. So, a most important piece that we do know is that anyone with the symptoms should simply get medical treatment immediately.

Question: Dr. Bassett, what’s the history of outbreaks that have led to this in New York City? Is this rare to have two people die? Has it happened in the past years, the past decades?

Commissioner Bassett: This infection can lead to death – case fatality rate is somewhere between five and ten percent. So, we know that it can, pneumonia and an older person with underlying diseases can be a very serious infection. That’s why we keep stressing the importance of identifying, identifying symptoms and seeking care early. So, we expect to see deaths in clusters like these, and we will continue tracking them.

Question: [inaudible] in years?

Commissioner Bassett: We have two or three of these a year. Yes, so I – I mentioned on average that’s what we’ve been seeing. In the United States, and in our city, the number of cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been increasing since the year 2000. The reasons for that are not clear, but may have to do with better case ascertainment. We have better and better lab tests that enable us to make the diagnosis. And it also may have to do with the fact that we have an aging population, more people susceptible to the infection. 

Mayor: Hold on. How about one over here, guys?

Question: So, in order for you to identify these two sites as sources, further testing needs to be done? Is that what you’re saying? Like they have to –

Commissioner Bassett: We remediate these sites. Once we find any evidence of bacteria that causes human disease, which is what we’ve done at these two sites, we move promptly. They’re being remediated now as the mayor has said – that we don’t wait to show a link between a human case and the organisms found in the water tower. If you – if we want to establish that link we have to do further tests.

Questions: A two –

Mayor: Go ahead.

Question: A two question for the [inaudible]. So the first is, no contamination in the hospital, no patients or doctors with possible symptoms – are there any patients coming into the hospital or [inaudible] the hospital?

Commissioner Basset: We know that there are people being cared for – for Legionella infections in the hospital, but nobody has acquired it there.

Mayor: So obviously, it’s part of Ram’s system with Health and Hospitals Corporation. I wanna let him –

Dr. Ram Raju, President, Health and Hospitals Corporation: Thank you mayor. I think all the patients who come to Lincoln of – with Legionella, they were not – they were not acquired in Lincoln Hospital. They come from other communities into Lincoln Hospital. And none of the employees at Lincoln Hospital has got Legionella.

Mayor: Do you have another?

Question: Oh, yeah. Is there [inaudible]?

Mayor: Well, the decontamination is happening right now. I think at the completion of the decontamination – that settles the issues cause there is no further evidence of a problem at Lincoln Hospital.

Question: What do you have to do to further ensure –

Mayor: I’ll let them clarify, but, again, I just want to restate so we’re clear – the inside of the hospital has had no impact that we know of. The outside is one tower that is being decontaminated as we speak. Is there anything to clarify further? Okay, Grace.

Question: How long does the decontamination process take? And also, are there any specific outreach efforts that you all are making in that geographic area to convey this message directly to people who live and pass by these buildings?

Commissioner Bassett: The passing by the buildings, doesn’t, per se, create a risk. These sites are being decontaminated and it usually takes a day or two. It depends on the particular machine – all of them vary. Sometimes they have to be treated more than once. The Lincoln site has been treated and decontaminated and we will do tests to show that the bacteria has disappeared. Those tests are being done now.

Question: But there is not any – I mean, obviously, you’re having this press conference, you’ve been speaking out in the media, I didn’t know if there was any effort to [inaudible].

Commissioner Bassett: Oh, we’ve done – no – we’ve done lots of outreach to community groups, to community boards, to local elected politicians – you and the media are helping us to get the word out. What an individual can do is to seek care if they have symptoms. For the vast majority of people, this poses no risk, but anyone who has symptoms of fever, cough, difficulty breathing, headache, muscle pains, chills should seek medical attention.

Question: Similar to the questions about Lincoln Hospital, have you found any [inaudible] from people who worked at Concourse Plaza? Any of those commercial – or anyone who went to the movies at the multiplex? Is that a concern people should have?

Commissioner Bassett: We have found no clustering of cases in that way. We’re still investigating, and, of course, were gonna move promptly and the process is already underway to remediate that. So, when that happens, then you no longer have water mist being dispelled that has bacteria in it. So that – whether we show that it’s connected to human cases or not – that’s done. And it’s being done in every – we’re testing every cooling tower that we can find in the area.

Mayor: In the back?

Question: Since the outbreak have you gone back to Co-Op City where it was detected before and done new tests? Are you planning to do new tests there?

Commissioner Bassett: There have been – we’re going to – we are directed in our directed in our investigation by where the cases are occurring and we don’t have any new evidence of an outbreak in Co-Op City.

Unknown: Thank you.

Question: How long will it take for you to canvas out all the water towers in the area and do the test and how far of a radius are you going out from the area right now?

Commissioner Bassett: Well we’re doing this widely in the South Bronx and we have identified 20 water towers and tested 11 of them. Ten more – we sent out people to test today. We should be getting back results soon. Actually very, you know, any minute on the ones that were tested today and we will – and we will be getting the additional results tomorrow.

Question: I wondered if the intense heat and the humidity this week has any effect – I guess positive or negative – in the attempts to contain – 

Commissioner Bassett: Well, the reason that we see this in summer months is because, in fact, the air conditioning is – there’s more warm water around and more likely for an environment in which this bacteria thrives. I also want to point out that this is a widespread bacteria. It’s present in our environment. It’s common. And – but it thrives in water and in summer months we have a better atmosphere for it. It also is very important that these water towers be maintained. The kind of crud that can develop in places forms a bacterial culture medium and we are looking into ways to keep a better eye on the maintenance of these cooling towers.

Unknown: Thanks.

Question: Dr. Bassett, could you tell us anything about the 2 people who have died from this disease? How old they are, what their—

Commissioner Bassett: Yeah these were both – I liked the way you phrased it and I would urge you to use that language. These are people who died with Legionnaires’ disease. They had multiple other diseases – lung disease, heart disease. Middle-aged people who died with the infection and may well have died of other causes. We don’t know yet.

Question: Can you give us their ages and gender?

Commissioner Bassett: They were in their 50s. One man, one woman.

Mayor: Anything else on this topic? Please.

Question: Of the 46 cases, have you found that any of them were in the vicinity of these cooling towers?

Commissioner Bassett: This is a question that would only come from actually doing the interviews with the individuals. We’re going after those cooling towers without getting information from the people who have become sick.

Question: So you don’t know yet?

Commissioner Bassett: We don’t know yet.

Mayor: Right. But again, you know, let me jump in.

Commissioner Bassett: Yeah.

Mayor: The – sorry. Again the Department of Health – and this is the preeminent Department of Health of any city in the country. It’s well known that way. And, you know, the idea is so important that there is a full investigation done and there are disease detectives – highly trained folks who go and retrace the steps. We’ve seen this in action in previous challenges. So, now that we know the folks who have been affected, we’ll be in a position to get a better sense of what happen at cases and what it tells us. But what we do know is any water tower where we think there is a reason to test we’re going to go test. Obviously anything that’s reported to us that causes us concern, we’re going to go test. And it’s very important that if anyone does have such a concern that we hear something about that. But again, we also know that folks who have the symptoms can do something about it right away. Yes?

Question: This would be – decontamination process and the testing process – do you go in with like a swab, do you bleach, what’s the actual process?

Commissioner Bassett: Well, I could Dr. Raju talk about what was actually done overnight at Lincoln Hospital, but the decontamination process is related to what’s found to be wrong, what you see when you look at the cooling tower. These aren’t standard machines. They vary. They’re different models. And the – how you decontaminate may vary by the model. Use of anything that kills bacteria, which includes simple bleach is often used to flush the machine, followed out with flushing with fresh water. And we – you also – sometimes we find a film that develops from the crud, and that would require mechanical cleaning. It depends on – the cleaning process depends on the actual state of the machine. They may need repairs that had – because some form of disrepairs contributed the maintenance problem that led to the contamination. So it usually can be done in a day or two. And it sometimes requires repeated treatment, but sometimes requires just one. 

Question: And the city pays for this?

Commissioner Bassett: No the, the – well, the owner. And I’ll let Dr. Raja, the owner, speak to that. 

[Laughter]

Mayor: Yes, for this one. 

Dr. Raju: We got the news yesterday, late afternoon. Immediately we got – we do this checking every six months. That is a part of the [inaudible] requirements for hospitals. So immediately we got our consultant vendors in place. We put the bleach in there. The bleach went down 8 o’clock at night. By 12 o’clock – it stayed for four hours. At 12 o’clock at night we started bleeding the tower, getting rid of the water. Now, the fresh water is going in, so we will check it. 

Mayor: Okay. Any other questions on this topic? I want to go to heat for a moment.

Yeah, you’re timing is perfect. I want to go to heat in a moment, but any other questions on Legionnaires? Okay. We have Commissioner Esposito here who can give us just a quick update on what’s going with the heat situation. 

[…]

Mayor: Let me just add, and then we’ll take questions. So, again, as we talked about yesterday, the conservation – electricity conservation is absolutely crucial here. Again, we’re keeping this alert on until we are free and clear – we hope around 8 pm tonight. But we really want to make sure, all of us together, we do not have a blackout or brownout. We don’t have some parts of the city afflicted. So, I’m saying to people again – only use the electricity you need. If you need air conditioning, set it for 78 degrees, which you’re experiencing right now. And it’s not perfect, but it certainly will keep people safe and healthy, and it will reduce the burden on our electrical system. And any appliances that are not needed, any lights that don’t need to be on – we want to keep playing this safe until we get through this at 8 pm tonight. With that, let’s see if there’s any questions on the heat situation. Yes?

Question: It’s connected to the heat – it’s a question about Sanitation Sergeant Musella. I know that the flags are at half-mast outside. Is there more you can tell us about what we know what happened there? And is there anything – is there any policies or guidance that city workers who are doing physical labor outside are given when we have an alert like this?

Mayor: Well, obviously the situation is being looked at carefully, and the sanitation department will have more to say. Clear messages were sent to employees in the city about conserving energy, about, you know, being careful, obviously, if there were any health challenges, and about drinking lots of water. We’ll keep doing that. But I don’t think we know enough yet, specifically in this case. He was in a supervisory role – not a sanitation worker out on a truck, but a supervisor with a different role. I spoke to his widow this morning and expressed the condolences of the people of New York City. I told her we would be with her and her children every step of the way to help them in any way we could. 

On the heat situation – any questions on Commissioner Esposito’s briefing? Going once – yes?

Question: [inaudible]

Commissioner Joseph Esposito, Office of Emergency Management: We have a five percent reduction in the Flatbush network and the Brighton Beach network. [inaudible] Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, parts of Midwood, and Flatbush. There’s been no effect – no [inaudible] been affected. There’s been no discernible effect as a result of the reduction. That’ll go until about 11 o’clock tonight. 

Mayor: Okay. Any other heat-related questions? Going once – going twice – any other topics?

Grace?

Question: I wanted to get your response to the inspector general’s report on body cameras for police. And he’s recommending that they be on at all times when police are wearing them. Do you agree with that? And if not, how often do you think the camera should be? And how should it be decided when they go on and off?

Mayor: Well, let me – a couple of things. First of all, I think body cameras are going to be an important contribution to the reforms we’re making in policing in this city, and I think they’re going to ultimately improve the relationship between police and community, and give us a lot more information, a lot more transparency that will benefit everyone. As we’ve said, we are in pilot phase right now. That pilot is going to grow. We know there are a lot of particular challenges going to the kind of scale we have here in New York City. So, we’re going to be very deliberative about making sure we can take each next step and make it work. The inspector general – I respect him a lot. I think he put forward some important concerns. I’m sure the NYPD is going to evaluate them, as I will. But it’s premature to say – I’m not an expert on body cameras. Obviously, I look forward to seeing what the NYPD’s evaluation of those concerns is. 

Yes?

Question: The design – design complications had delayed the completion of two Staten Island railway facilities, and given the long commutes that those folks face, I was wondering if you had any concerns about that?

Mayor: Well, I have a concern about any time that we have a public project that doesn’t move as quickly as possible. So, I will be happy to find out more about what’s going on, and what role we can play in fixing it, and we’ll get back to you.

Question: There was an Indian restaurant that was complaining about getting fined by the city for trying to hire a waiter of Indian decent. I was wondering if you thought that there may be should be some leniency –

Mayor: Not familiar with the case – I’d have to get details. 

Question: Two more questions – there is a group of former students and teachers from Yeshivas in Brooklyn who sent a letter to the city this week. They’re about 39 Yeshivas they’re referring to, saying that they weren’t getting an equivalent education to the public school system, which is the city’s responsibility to ensure that. So, I’m wondering how the city is going to investigate that. And second of all, if any of those Yeshivas are pre-k providers. 

Mayor: Again, I don’t know the facts of this specific situation. I’d be happy to look at it and get back to you. I’m a little – the way you’re framing it, I’m not sure I follow, because obviously it’s a separate school system, so – but let – I think the simple answer is, let me see the letter, and we’ll get back to you.

Question: The state rule is that the city is still responsible for overseeing that private school – so [inaudible] an equivalent education – the students there – to the city public schools. And it’s actually the district superintendents who are in charge [inaudible] ­–

Mayor: Let me – let’s get details on the case and come back to you. Did you have one?

Question: Yes. Mr. Mayor, Governor Cuomo had said he wasn’t going to weigh in into the 421-a negotiations and whether or not there should be a prevailing wage component attached to it. He said he was going to stay out of the talks. I was wondering if you’re planning on taking the same approach, or if you plan to get involved.

Mayor: Obviously, you know, I’ve made clear what I think we need to do on 421-a, and why I think the plan that we put forward is the right plan. And I am very hopeful that those talks with result positively. I think everyone wants to find a way to work things out together in a fair manner. So, it’s not about weighing in. It’s about, do I believe that the current process will result in a workable plan – yes, I do.

Question: You said last year that AIPAC would have an open door for you whenever they need. Now that they are opposed to the deal that you endorsed, do they still have an open door?

Mayor: Oh, they absolutely have an open door. I didn’t say we would agree on everything. What was the famous Ed Koch quote? “If you agree with me 70 percent of the time, you’re smart, and if you agree with me 100 percent of the time, you should have your head examined.” I think the – you know, I agree with AIPAC’s strong defense of the state of Israel as a general principle, and I look forward to working with them many times. But on this issue, I think we do have some disagreements. I’m certainly always willing to talk to them. I think, from what I’ve seen of the Iran deal so far, I’m impressed by it. But I look forward to learning more information about it.

Question: Would you resume business with Iran if it passes?

Mayor: Again, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Right now, the first question is, what’s going to happen with this deal before us? I’m still learning some of the details of it. I don’t know – I don’t think any of us know – what the exact outcome will be. Let’s see where we are at the end of that.

Question: Staying on Israel, there was an attack in Jerusalem on a gay rights march by a gentleman who had just gotten out of prison for attacking the same march ten years ago. I’m wondering your reaction to that.

Mayor: I haven’t heard the details, but obviously it’s abhorrent that there would ever be an attack on people because of who they love – here, or in Israel, or anywhere else. I don’t know the specifics of the case. You know – I think, obviously, in this city, we take bias crime very, very seriously, and we follow up on it very, very aggressively. And that’s going to be something we continue with.

Unknown: One more question.

Mayor: Michael?

Question: Rich Lamb is out, so I’m going to try to ask a Rich Lamb –

Mayor: If Rich Lamb were here – wow, he has reached to the – high up in the pantheon – that people now play his role at the press conferences. Okay. [Laughs]

Question: Obviously, the –

Mayor: WWRLD, right?

[Laughter]

Question: Obviously, the very hot summer weather brings a lot of challenges, as we’ve been discussing – conservation of energy and some health issues. You know, it’s also a time a lot of New Yorkers get to be outside – people have fond memories of just, you know, summer in the city. And I wondered if there was anything – any instance or memory in particular that –

Mayor: Are you talking about past memories or current memories?

[Laughter]

I mean, recent or past, or what?

Question: Yeah, I –

Mayor: Give me – give me something to work with here, Michael.

Question: I don’t know if you [inaudible] –

Mayor: Rich would have made it much clearer.

[Laughter]

Question: That’s – that’s absolutely true. Just any fun – any fond memories of summers in New York, and the activities or events.

Mayor: I’ll give you a recent one. And I – I had the joy to – one of the – a week or two ago, I came home from a long day of work, and Dante challenged me to play soccer on the Gracie Mansion lawn. And it was not advisable – it was very hot out, and I had already exercised for the day. But the thrill of spending time with my son caused a very vigorous soccer game on the lawn at Gracie Mansion. And I was – this time – minimally embarrassed. So I consider that a great victory. There’s my happy summer 2015 memory.

Thanks, everyone.