Small New Jersey Earthquake Rattles New York City Buildings

A small earthquake shook the dust off the walls and rattled windows across northern New Jersey and the greater New York City area Tuesday.

The 2.7-magnitude temblor was centered about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) south of Hillsdale, New Jersey, and was caused by a local fault, said John Bellini, a geophysicist with the US Geological Survey. The earthquake struck about 12:12 p.m., according to the agency’s website.

“It’s an average, run-of-the-mill quake for that part of the country, there are just enough people there for them to feel it,” Bellini said. The faults in New Jersey aren’t as active as ...