Last updated April 28, 2026
Twilight On The Staten Island Ferry
I like standing on the Staten Island Ferry’s deck. It’s my favorite way to get fresh air in New York. Between air conditioning, artificial heat and subway tunnels, you’re always in one cocoon or another.
On the ferry it’s just water, sky, wind and, you. The breeze cools summer’s soggy swelter. During winter, icy winds kiss colorful, crimson cheeks. The sound of churning water is pleasant year-round.
I’m not alone. Some people chat in Japanese, others flirt in Portuguese, joke in Turkish, tease in Spanish, whisper in Hindi. Now and then you’ll hear English, but the locals—they mostly stay inside the ferry, staring at books, staring at screens, staring at each other. I’m outside with the tourists.
The gangplank creaks and clangs when lifted and several chains rattle in response. Toooooooot! The ferry lurches forward, the motors get louder. Water gurgles, complaining about being displaced. Manhattan’s glass and steel slowly get smaller and smaller.
Click-Click-Click-Flash-Click-Flash. When we’re close enough to the Statue of Liberty, everyone’s camera is put to work. Everyone, of course, being the tourists.
Their green model never blinks, never smiles, and always keeps her arm raised— a true professional. Trip of a lifetime for many of the tourists; for locals it’s simply Tuesday.
Black smoke drifts off a distant vessel. It’s almost sunset. We’re close. Staten Island’s yellowish and white lights no longer resemble sparkling, broken glass on a sidewalk.
The ferry bumps and thumps to a stop at the St. George Terminal. The motors grunt gently. The water complains less and less.
Returning To Manhattan Aboard The Staten Island Ferry
Before September 11, 2001 you could remain on the ferry after arriving at the St. George Terminal. Now we perform the St. George four-step: abandon ship, enter the terminal, wait on line, re-board.
A fresh batch of seen-it-all-a-million-times New Yorkers take their seats inside. Meanwhile, the same tourists and I rendez-vous again on the deck.
A woman from Hawaii preps her camera beside me, pointing it at a bridge. She tells her friend she thinks it’s the Brooklyn Bridge, but I gently inform her that it is, in fact, the Verrazano Bridge. You know, the one from Saturday Night Fever.
The Verrazano’s lights twinkle, some almost imperceptibly. A light fog makes the bridge appear dream-like.
Perhaps each of its glints and flickers is a fleeting reincarnation of one of the millions of long-departed souls who passed through the Verrazano Narrows, the narrow neck separating the vast Atlantic Ocean and New York Harbor.
After passing through the Verrazano Narrows, the newly-arrived immigrants were in the home stretch. Just a few minutes from their new lives on our welcoming shores.
Forgotten were the stench of vomit in steerage, the tight shoes full of holes, the twisted, hungry stomachs, toothaches, crushing fear. Mere memories by the time they stepped onto either Manhattan or Ellis Island, depending on when their journey was made.
They stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the ship’s deck. One’s rough, scratchy wool coat scraping against everyone else’s rough, scratchy wool coats. None could hear the rough fibers grinding, though. Too busy pointing at Lady Liberty and discussing the new, fabulous city, or their new, fabulous city to be more precise.
The Sun Sets, a Memory Returns
It’s dusk and we’re making progress toward Manhattan. Far away a foghorn moans lustily into the darkening sky’s ear. Looking around New York Bay, I imagine Januarys and Februarys during the Colonial era (or earlier). And you think New York’s winters are cold now?
Back then, the Hudson River would freeze so completely that people walked between Manhattan and Staten Island. Yes, walked! As in, the route the Staten Island Ferry now traverses. Sometimes they’d walk right past vessels trapped by the ice.
As we pass by the Statue of Liberty again, I remember a story I was told by a friend. His great-grandfather had arrived from Europe months before his bride-to-be. She later arrived at Ellis Island, but was detained there for about a week.
His great-grandfather had two choices: wait patiently until immigration authorities released his betrothed or visit her daily by swimming from the New Jersey side to Ellis Island until the day of her release. Which did he choose? Ahhhh, love.
Meanwhile, Back in Manhattan
Swirling white foam and the city’s reflected lights are all I can see in the water. Manhattan’s buildings seem even larger than when we left. After working all day, they love showing off when night falls.
It’s an impressive sight, it really is. But…it’s not the same without the World Trade Center.
How do you explain the presence and magnitude of those towers to someone who never stood under them and looked upward toward eternity? Pride and unease simultaneously evoked by their otherworldly scale and presence.
Two enormous sentries guarding the entry to the New World. Or, more precisely, a new world to the newcomers. To everyone else, it’s just Tuesday.
(The Staten Island Ferry is free and works year-round, 24 hours-a-day.)
Questions
Staten Island Ferry: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — completely free, in both directions, every day of the year. No ticket, no MetroCard, no reservation needed. Just walk on.
The ferry runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. During peak hours the boats depart every 15 to 30 minutes. Late night and early morning departures are less frequent. Check the Staten Island Ferry’s schedule.
About 25 minutes each way. Most visitors ride it round-trip — the views of the harbor, the Statue of Liberty, and the Manhattan skyline are the destination. Note that you must disembark and re-board at both terminals before the return trip; you may not remain on the ferry. The wait is usually short and you can re-board immediately.
The Whitehall Terminal at Manhattan’s southernmost tip. The terminal is at the corner of Whitehall Street and South Street, just steps from the water.
1 train → South Ferry
R or W train → Whitehall St–South Ferry
4 or 5 train → Bowling Green
2 or 3 train → Wall St (short walk)
Dusk and early evening — the skyline lights up as Manhattan transitions from day to night, and the Statue of Liberty is beautifully lit. On the outbound trip toward Staten Island you’ll have the skyline behind you and Lady Liberty to your right, so position yourself on the outer deck accordingly.
Yes. There is a snack bar on board that includes beer.
Yes — since September 11, 2001, passengers must disembark at both terminals before re-boarding. You can immediately re-board the next departure back. The wait is usually short.
The ferry passes within about a quarter mile of the Statue of Liberty — close enough for excellent photos. It does not dock there. To visit the statue itself you’ll need a separate ticket from Battery Park via the National Park Service ferry.
Paintings by Paul McGehee are reproduced with permission. All rights reserved by the artist. See more of Paul’s work at paulmcgeheeart.com.
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