They say they have not been taking showers for a month and say they are getting conflicting guidance from the Department of Health.
Eyewitness News spoke to resident Dana Cruz, who said she has to spend 90 minutes mixing boiling water with cold water to bathe her asthmatic son.
She says she has to do that because there is Legionella bacteria in her building.
The Department of Health says a resident tested positive for Legionnaires' in May of 2025. A second case was confirmed this past May.
Cruz, though, isn't the only one at the Haven Plaza complex in Alphabet City who's been boiling water to bathe.
"I boil the water, let it temper, and then I put it in a bucket," Yvette Lopez said.
"You can take boil it, throw the cold water in the tub if you have to bathe," resident Edwin Bonilla said.
But the health department says, "Nowhere in our guidance does it say that anyone should be boiling water on the stove and dumping it in the bathtub, someone could get seriously hurt by boiling and dumping water in their tub."
Video shows a health department representative on July 1st at a town hall at Haven Plaza saying otherwise.
"You can use the cold water, bring that up to boil and then utilize that, and then mix it with cold water until it's a temperature that you're comfortable with," the representative said.
"I don't think they've been as clear as they could be," another resident said.
The health department also said, "There is no general guidance that everyone in the building should avoid showering. We explicitly recommend bathing rather than showering but ONLY for high-risk groups."
"Now that we know that the building did test positive for Legionella bacteria growth in the water, we are asking everyone to refrain from taking a shower, even a cold shower," the health department representative said during the July 1 town hall.
"You're saying that they told you we can shower?" resident Janet Sibarium said
"So they want to gaslight us and they want to play the game that they never said any of these things," Cruz said.
City Council member Harvey Epstein joined that town hall virtually.
"The information has unfortunately been a bit contradictory," Epstein said. "It's clear they're saying you should boil water because you can't turn on hot water and put it in the tub. Now I was surprised to hear that but they're the experts, not me."
In a statement, the health department said, "The NYC Health Department has met with Haven Plaza residents on multiple occasions, tabled outside of their buildings, and provided clear written recommendations on the precautions people in high-risk groups can take to limit exposure to water vapor. We continue to answer any questions residents may have and ensure the building owner is taking all the required steps to remediate their water system."
This issue is not part of the community cluster on the Upper East Side coming from cooling towers.
This is contained to the buildings and is in the plumbing systems.
The safety recommendations are different.
The responsible management company says remediation will begin on July 28.