Earthquake felt in NYC suburbs on Long Island, in Westchester County
NEW YORK -- The power of Friday's earthquake traveled far and wide, including to New York City's suburbs to the north and the east.
Earthquake on Long Island
Matthew Bernard and his family were inside their Valley Stream home when the quake hit.
"The whole house was shaky, and the glasses were rattling," Matthew Bernard said.
"I was at school, just doing stuff, but then my hand starts shaking ... I was scared," 5-year-old Leo Bernard said.
"I figured, well, it can't be a train, it has to be an earthquake because it lasted a while and it really shook the house. It was scary," Valley Stream homeowner Mary Rose Bosko said.
Thursday evening, a vehicle began sinking into a Huntington backyard cesspool, and Friday morning, just after the quake, Suffolk Police were called when neighbors said it appeared the car was in further danger.
"All of a sudden, I felt it. It felt like a big truck was going by, and then it got stronger and stronger, all the glasses were shaking. So we were freaking out. We were like, 'Cover the baby,'" Huntington resident Toni DeVincentis said.
"I was on the phone on a call, [3-month-old Charlie DeVincentis] was playing here, and my wife's like, 'It's an earthquake.' I'm like, 'Ah, no it's not. I think the house is just shaking.' And she was like, 'Cover the baby, cover the baby.' So I went and covered him up, and I mean, that was it for us. The house was shaking pretty hard," Chris DeVincentis said.
In Islip, danger was averted when a fire boat began taking on water. It was safely removed to dry dock after the morning's quake.
School leaders across Long Island sent alerts to parents soon after the quake, letting them know buildings were structurally sound and their children were safe.
Earthquake in Westchester County
Westchester County is 60 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, but it was felt by hundreds of thousands of people from Peekskill to Yonkers.
On the fourth floor of a 100-year-old Yonkers building, the team at No Limit Ninja was preparing for their grand opening.
"This was the kind of feeling it was like, the rocking side to side," Anthony Giallanzo said. "It was a pretty weird feeling. You felt it, like, in your gut. It was like, 'What is that?' You know?"
Yonkers Police traffic cams captured the earthquake at 10:23 Friday morning. As the city shook, Mayor Mike Spano says 911 calls exploded.
"You have people in a panic. 'What happened? 'Cause something happened somewhere, and is everybody OK?'" Spano said.
In New Rochelle, Enoch Paintsil felt it at his concierge desk.
"It was crazy. The whole entire building started shaking. My desk started shaking, and I'm like, what's going on?" he said.
Kemesha Salmon was rattled inside her toy store.
"I was sitting down and all of a sudden, my toy fell off the shelf," she said.
There was no damage, other than jangled nerves.
