New York – Shaky Jewish New Yorkers React to Quake

New York – Today’s 5.9 magnitude earthquake may have struck in Virginia just before 2 PM this afternoon, but it was felt all along the East Coast, with many New Yorkers not even realizing that the jarring sensation that they had just experienced was indeed an earthquake.

“I was in my office in NYC when I felt the shaking and my first thought was that I was clearly not feeling well,” said Shlomo, editor of VIN News. “But after a second I realized that we were experiencing an earthquake and I ran outside to avoid getting hurt in case the building started to come down. I wanted to call Hatzala, but someone told me that there were no injuries so there was no need to make the call. I saw many other people who also sought safety outside and were afraid to stay in their buildings, concerned that we were undergoing a terror attack. There are literally thousands of people on the streets of New York, all talking about the earthquake. Most importantly, there were no casualties here as a result of this event.

Graphic designer Sruly Meyer was in his basement office in Crown Heights when the quake hit.

“I felt my chair moving and I thought the chair was breaking. I stood up but still felt floor shaking. I looked at fish tank and saw water shaking and realized that something was very wrong. I started to worry that my basement was caving in, so I took my kids outside and saw other people coming out and asking ‘you felt it?’ I was so shocked.”

Also in Crown Heights, Judaica Plus is reporting that picture frames fell off the walls when the earthquake began to shake the area.

“Sitting in the back of my office, I felt nothing as they called out from upfront if I felt anything,” said Dovid Winiarz, a Staten Island businessman. “I’m not kidding when I say my first thought was to turn to either Facebook or VIN to see what was happening. After confirming it was an earthquake I remembered the Chofetz Chaim who jumped upon hearing a clap of thunder and asked in Yiddish, ‘What does the Tatte want from me?’”

At Jewish Press headquarters in the heart of Borough Park, staffers were evacuated after the building started swaying and that as they went outside onto 16th Avenue, shoppers were streaming out of the stores and were standing in the streets.

At another Borough Park business one person reported that when they felt the vibrations they weren’t quite sure what to make of it.

“We all felt the building swaying. It wasn’t bad, but it was enough to know something was up. A few of us went outside to see if it had to do with the construction they were doing outside. The streets were flooded with confused people and I realized right away that it was an earthquake, though Baruch Hashem, not a strong one.”

Things were relatively quiet in Manhattan’s diamond district, though some of the larger buildings on 5th Avenue were evacuated.

VIN photographer Eli Wohl had just returned to his apartment when he felt the floor begin to shake.

“I happened to be on the phone-line with a Rabbi consulting about the Brit for my five day old newborn baby, when he confirmed that the also felt shaking in his house, located fifteen blocks away. At that point I knew it was an earthquake and I grabbed my baby and wife and we ran for our lives. Thankfully, we got away with a light one. My prayers are with those closer to the center.”

“I felt a little dizzy and thought I was fainting,” said VIN News videographer ShiaHD. “Then I checked Vos Iz Neias and realized what was going on.”

One Great Neck lawyer reported that his entire building started to shake.

“I recognized the sensation from the small earthquake we experienced in 1985. I told the guys in the other room that we were having an earthquake, but they didn’t believe me. A few seconds later the building started to shake and then they believed me. Just a few seconds later my wife texted me from Rockland County to ask me if it was possible that what she was feeling was an earthquake.”

“My whole office was shaking,” said Howard Tornopsky, a Lakewood chiropractor. “Everyone ran outside. It was crazy for a while and people were really scared.”

Outside the New York area, one Israel bound passenger in Newark reported that the airport was filled with screaming passengers when the quake hit and in Baltimore, Jeff Cohn of BaltimoreJewishLife.com reports that while he felt nothing driving in his car to mincha at the time the quake struck, he was greeted by white faced fellow daveners when he pulled into the parking lot at the Agudah in Baltimore.

The Forward reports that at the Kesher Israel Synagogue, located just blocks from the White House, “it felt like a herd of elephants was running back and forth while someone was jackhammering the building” and Jewish centers and synagogues in the area were evacuated as they were inspected for structural damage.

Twitter and Facebook continue to buzz as jittery east coasters, rattled by today’s tremor continue to post their thoughts on today’s events.