Bronxites Shakin’ and Stirred; New Jersey Earthquake Rattles Borough

Residents Shaken, Schools Went on Lockdown

At least one parent and a school employee wait outside of P.S. 86 on Reservoir Avenue that was apparently put on lockdown after a reported earthquake felt across New York City on Friday, April 5, 2024. -Photo by David Greene

By David Greene 

Bronx Voice 

April 5, 2024 

BRONX - A magnitude 4.8 magnitude earthquake centered in New Jersey shook beds and cabinets and scared the wits out of many, but no injuries or serious damage was reported.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) the quake was registered at the USGS’s Whitehouse Station at 10:23 a.m. on Friday, April 5. The USGS reported a second quake 7 kilometers from Gladstone, New Jersey. The USGS reports the second quake was a 4.0 magnitude, that they say occurred at 5:59 p.m.

“It was a quick jolt,” recalled a security guard at Monroe College, located at Jerome Avenue and West 190 Street. 

Several students were standing in front of a television, some with cellphones in hand as CNN was reporting on the quake they had just felt.

Students and faculty at Monroe College hover around a television as they learn of a reported 4.8 magnitude earthquake centered in New Jersey on Friday, April 5, 2024. -Photo by David Greene

At least one parent, an employee and a GrubHub driver were locked out of P.S. 86 on Reservoir Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights as the school was apparently on lockdown after the quake. 

The GrubHub driver called his customer and quickly left to make other deliveries.

Waiting to be let into the school to be with her child, parent Maria Acost recalled, “I was on my bed, and it was moving right-left, right-left for maybe 50 seconds.”

She continued, “It was shaking and then I thought something fell upstairs, but I felt the bed and that’s how I realized it was not coming from upstairs but the ground.”

After about 10 minutes a security guard opened the door and allowed several women in. He told them, “Once you come in you can’t go back out.”

Mayor Eric Adams held a news briefing carried live over all the major television stations at just after 12 noon. He said, “You are always concerned about aftershocks after an earthquake. But New Yorkers should go about their normal day.” 

Adams added, “At this point we don’t have any reports of major impacts to our infrastructure or injuries, but of course we’re still assessing the situation.”

Borough President Vanessa Gibson issued a statement that read in part, “We are, however, urging our residents to please check in with loved ones and neighbors during this time while keeping in mind aftershocks may occur. Our team is closely monitoring the situation and will continue sharing updates as we receive them.”

Members of the NYPD’s Emergency Services and Aviation Units spent most of the day inspecting bridges as building inspectors with the Department of Buildings were checking buildings and construction sites.