Queens Quake Causes Roosevelt Island Early AM Explosions: Officials

ROOSEVELT ISLAND, NY — The New Years Eve fireworks might be over, but residents of Roosevelt Island woke to a series of loud explosions early Tuesday morning, according to officials and residents.

The explosions were caused by a 1.7 magnitude earthquake in Astoria, officials said.

"It turns out that it was an earthquake," said Camille Joseph Varlack, chief of staff for City Hall, "probably along the lines of 1.7."

One expert told Patch that there could be more movement to come.

Earthquakes in the eastern U.S. often come in clusters, sometimes over an extended period of time, Thomas Pratt, a research geophysicist, said after a 1.7-magnitude quake shook near Astoria early Tuesday.

"We don't know if this is going to be a one-off," he told Patch Tuesday.

"The chances of a large, damaging earthquake are very slight," Pratt added.

At around 5:30 a.m., Matt Waldman was working out in the gym at the Roosevelt Island Landings complex when he heard a series of loud booms.

"I thought someone had dropped weights at first," he told Patch. "But it was really, really loud."

Even New Yorkers on the Upper East Side reported feeling the explosion.

"Anyone feel that shake around 5 45?" Upper East Side resident Andrew Fine posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.

Others speculated — now correctly — that it was an earthquake.

First responders, including police, EMT and specialized FDNY trucks, responded to reports of a building shaking and explosions at about 5:50 a.m. on Main Street, just south of the Roosevelt Island Bridge and tram, FDNY officials and Waldman said.

According to the Daily News, the explosions appear to have occured underground, most likely caused by the early morning earthquake, officials said.

By 6:15 a.m., Waldman said the scene was "chaotic," describing the island as totally closed off from Queens and filled with emergency vehicles.

At about 7:30, the New York City Emergency Management Department said that residents of the island should expect "road closures, mass transit disruptions & emergency personnel," and advised people to take "alternative routes."

"There were helicopters and emergency vehicles everywhere," Waldman said. "It was pretty chaotic."

In one River Road building, he noticed at least 30 people standing in the lobby and wondered if the elevators had lost power.

According to Con Edison, there are no outages on the island.

Waldman said first responders appeared to focus more on Manhattan Park at around 6:45 a.m.

By 7 a.m., FDNY determined the scene to be safe and handed the investigation over to Con Edison, and the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation sent out an alert to island residents, Waldman said.

Con Edison said that crews were still on the scene Tuesday morning investigating the incident, according to a spokesperson.

Additional reporting by Matt Troutman