New York City has broken ground on an innovative and historic Public Health Laboratory that will have the mission of protecting and promoting the health of all New Yorkers and keeping the city at the forefront of disease research and response.
The 10-story, 240,000-square-foot building was designed with staff well-being in mind and will meet New York City’s ambitious new resiliency and sustainability standards. It is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2026.
The facility, which will be located adjacent to the Harlem Hospital complex, will be managed by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). The laboratory will be one of the most energy efficient, sustainable and high-tech in the country and is being built thanks to $25 million provided by the city’s Department of Administrative Services.
Some of the energy conservation measures at the new Public Health Laboratory will be ultra-efficient laboratory equipment, photovoltaic solar panels, and cool beams. It will also have a cogeneration plant that will provide significant energy and economic savings.
The new Public Health Laboratory participated in the City’s 80×50 program, which commits to achieving an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. The New York City Public Health Laboratory was the first laboratory municipal bacteriology of the world. In the century since its first campaign to control diphtheria in New York City, the Public Health Laboratory has expanded to provide a variety of clinical and environmental laboratory testing services to detect and characterize disease-causing organisms.
The new Public Health Laboratory participated in the City’s 80×50 program, which commits to achieving an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. The New York City Public Health Laboratory was the first laboratory municipal bacteriology of the world. In the century since its first campaign to control diphtheria in New York City, the Public Health Laboratory has expanded to provide a variety of clinical and environmental laboratory testing services to detect and characterize disease-causing organisms.
Since the 1960s, the Public Health Laboratory has occupied 11 floors of a 335,000-square-foot, 14-story building, across from Bellevue Hospital at 455 First Avenue. The Public Health Laboratory has expanded over the years, and the more than 200 staff members now provide a variety of clinical and environmental laboratory testing services including community testing for tuberculosis and sexual health-associated diseases; antibiotic resistance testing; foodborne illness investigations; outbreak response, (Ebola, Legionnaires’ disease, COVID-19, monkeypox); whole genome sequencing; monitoring of pathogens in beach waters and wastewater; and biological threat agent testing.
“We cannot afford to wait for the next pandemic to strengthen our public health infrastructure,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “The New York City Public Health Laboratory will bring a state-of-the-art facility to Harlem to serve and protect the health of all New Yorkers. I look forward to working with DOHMH and NYCEDC to build this leading laboratory in the nation to keep safe and healthy New Yorkers for generations to come.”
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