New York City officials have discovered a sixth death linked to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Central Harlem, where more than 100 people have been diagnosed with the ailment.

A 2015 outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, traced to a cooling tower at a hotel, forced New York City to address a problem that had long been suspected but never adequately addressed: the role of buildings in spreading Legionella bacteria through the air.

An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in New York was "completely preventable," civil rights attorney Ben Crump says.