Harlem Public Health Laboratory To Finish Construction By 2025

HARLEM, NY - Though the NYC Public Health Laboratory building in Harlem is still a few years away from opening, it’s on track to make waves when it does.

The 10-story, 240,000-square-foot building, which broke ground last year next to the Harlem Hospital complex on 137th Street, is slated to provide an auditorium for community use, new job opportunities for local residents, training opportunities for students in the new facility’s training lab and same day STI testing results – one of a few such facilities in the U.S. to do so, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

The facility is set to be completed in 2025 and ready for occupancy in 2026.

"The New York City Public Health Laboratory has been [a] champion advocate for the health of all New Yorkers, " Rep. Adriano Espaillat said in a statement. "This new state-of-the-art facility will help boost job creation for individuals and families in my district as well as provide cutting edge technology at the forefront of public health research and innovation."

Since the 1960s, the Public Health Lab has occupied 11 floors of a 335,000 square-foot, 14- story building across the street from Bellevue Hospital on First Avenue. Now, more than 200 staff members provide clinical and environmental laboratory testing services including community testing for tuberculosis and sexual health associated diseases; antibiotic resistance testing; food borne disease investigations; outbreak response (Ebola, Legionnaires’ disease, COVID-19, monkeypox); whole genome sequencing; beach water and wastewater pathogen monitoring; and biothreat agent testing, officials said.

The new facility was built in part with a $25 million grant from the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) to make the new lab energy efficient, sustainable and high-tech.

Some of the energy saving measures in the new building will include ultra-efficient laboratory equipment, solar photovoltaic panels and chilled beams, as well as a cogeneration plant to provide additional cost savings.

“The Public Health Lab has a sterling history and present, in protecting New Yorkers from threats to their health,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “This state-of-the art facility now matches this incredible legacy with an even brighter future that promises innovation, ingenuity and impact, that supports our amazing PHL staff who work so hard to keep our city safe, and that is in keeping with what New Yorkers deserve from their public health infrastructure."