When Brooklyn Shook in 1935

People tumbled out of their beds, dishes rattled in cupboards, and buildings swayed in Brooklyn — not from this morning’s temblor, but back in 1935 when an earthquake hit the East Coast on November 1, 1935.

Centered in Quebec, the 6.1 Timiskaming quake was felt as far south as Kentucky. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that in New York City it was Brooklyn that got the brunt of the shock. Residents weren’t sure what was happening and police reported to their first call on Prospect Park West where they found Brooklynites in their pajamas spilling into the street frightened by the shaking. Then the calls from other neighborhoods started arriving and it was clear that an earthquake had hit the city.

Sackett Street, in what is now the Columbia Street Waterfront District, got hit the hardest, with the Eagle reporting that residents at Nos. 141, 143, and 145 fled out into the street as their buildings bulged and shook. The Department of Buildings roped off the area and put temporary bracing in place to shore up the buildings. The New York Times reported the next day that earthquake-related cracks were found in 25 Brooklyn buildings — and the most dangerous ones were on Sackett Street.

The damage was more noticeable than when a tremor was felt in 1895. On that occasion, most residents hadn’t even been aware of the seismic activity or thought that “it was a big passing truck.”

In the midst of WWII, another shock hit the borough in September of 1944, leading residents to worry bombs were dropping. That 5.8 magnitude quake was centered in Massena, N.Y.

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