While the rest of New York City was fixated on either the Knicks playing in Game 6 or the Yankees-Mets up in the Bronx…I made my way to the forgotten borough, Staten Island. The City’s least populated and most distanced borough has a professional baseball team and for a few decades it was the Yankees’ short-season ‘A’ affiliate in the NY-Penn League. During the minor league restructure in 2021, the surprising move was made to Hudson Valley, while Staten Island would get a team in the independent Atlantic League. Good news with that is they got their own identity (FerryHawks) and beautiful SIUH Community Park nicely reflects that. Bad news is that attendance has been poor and while there should be some SI pride, there is very little attention on the team.
I’ve never been to Staten Island, and even though it’s only 35 miles away as the crow flies, it takes about an hour and a half to get there—thanks to traffic and the convoluted road network. My original plan was to make a day of it: spend time in Lower Manhattan, then hop on the Staten Island Ferry to catch the game. But once I really looked into the logistics – drive to Secaucus, train to Penn Station, subway to Lower Manhattan, then the ferry – it just didn’t seem worth the time and energy. It also made more sense to explore the borough where the game was actually happening. So I turned my attention to Staten Island, a 100-square-mile borough with about 500,000 residents. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much that grabbed me. I skipped the Staten Island Zoo and Historic Richmond Town (basically a mini Colonial Williamsburg) and decided to stick to the North Shore, visiting Snug Harbor. After a bout of rain, the skies cleared, and Snug Harbor turned out to be a lovely spot for a garden stroll. Next, I checked out the Staten Island Museum, which was…odd. Every door has a touch sensor and opens at an agonizingly slow pace. A security guard, though friendly, watches your every move on the first floor. One room is entirely dedicated to a random Woolly Mammoth, while the basement features an eerie slideshow about a repurposed landfill, complete with unsettling sound effects. The museum’s name is misleading; it offers only a handful of exhibits and doesn’t provide a solid overview of the borough. That said, the building itself is historic and charming, and the temporary exhibit on the Black Angels was genuinely interesting.
Staten Island is surprisingly hilly. When you think of New York City, elevation doesn’t exactly come to mind, but some of the roads here are steep enough to make you do a double take. I made my way to the St. George neighborhood to get to the stadium, and it’s a great area right near the iconic Staten Island Ferry terminal. The surrounding promenade has been nicely spruced up, and the walkway between the ballpark and the bay is a perfect spot to sit on a bench and take in the views. Watching boats pass by with the skylines of Jersey City, Lower Manhattan, and Brooklyn off in the distance is unexpectedly peaceful, just keep an eye out for the occasional rogue baseball during batting practice! I stopped by the 9/11 memorial nearby before heading further into town for dinner at Mavi Cafe, a cozy little spot with excellent Turkish food. The service was quick, the staff was friendly, and it made for a great pre-game meal. As I approached the stadium, music filled the area, giving it a lively, welcoming vibe.
I love this ballpark. I’m a sucker for stadiums with an outfield view, and this one absolutely delivers. The backdrop of water and distant city skylines is stunning. The scoreboard sits neatly in left field, preserving that beautiful sightline, and the interlocking “SI” logo on the (fake) grass adds a classy touch. The seating bowl is steeply pitched, which creates great sightlines throughout, something I much prefer over the shallower, smaller sections that many newer parks are opt for. The accents of sky blue and orange give the park some personality, but sadly, the fans just haven’t shown up. This Friday night game was played in front of a sparse crowd, under 1,000 in attendance, with many of them part of group outings. The atmosphere was largely dictated by all the kids around. The FerryHawks were thoroughly outmatched, falling 9–2. From the start, it was clear how the night would go: Staten Island starter Adalberto Mejía was getting hit hard early, while Gastonia’s Connor Grey cruised through the first three innings, allowing just one hit. After a promising start to the season, the FerryHawks are now 2–8 in their last 10 games. With previous seasons ending at 48–84, 49–75, and 55–69, it feels like the team is slipping back into a familiar pattern. I really hope this team survives as this is a ballpark that should not fade into obscurity.
For a detailed review on SIUH Community Park and the experience, click here.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
