Snug Harbor on Staten Island was, for over a century, Sailors’ Snug Harbor — one of the country’s first retirement homes for merchant seamen. The Noble Maritime Collection now occupies Building D on that campus, and on the third Sunday of every month its room fills with maritime work songs, led by the Folk Music Society of New York. It’s free, and you’re supposed to sing.
The sessions
- Third Sunday of every month, 2 to 4 p.m. Next dates: Oct. 18, Nov. 15, and Dec. 20, 2026, then Jan. 17, 2027.
- Free and family-friendly. Audience participation encouraged — this is a singalong, not a concert.
- Setting: a museum building on the grounds of what was a sailors’ home, which is about as appropriate a room for shanties as the city has.
If you’re making the trip anyway
- The museum is open Wednesday to Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m., pay-what-you-wish — donating is optional, not required.
- Anyone receiving SNAP benefits gets in without a donation through Museums for All. Members, children under 10, and care partners are free.
- All public areas are accessible: step-free entrance, elevator to every floor, accessible restrooms, and a wheelchair and walker available on site.
Getting there
- Free Staten Island Ferry to St. George, then the S40 bus to the Sailors’ Snug Harbor gate, or the S44 to Henderson Ave/Devon Place plus a ten-minute walk through the campus to Building D.
- By car: free parking, with the P2 lot the nearest if you enter through the East Gate on Fillmore Street. Bicycles lock up behind Building D via Shinbone Alley.
- Address: 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building D, Staten Island.
The pitch is simple: a free, recurring, no-reservation afternoon of live music in a building that existed for the people who sang these songs for a living. Staten Island makes it a half-day rather than a quick stop, but the ferry is free too, and the harbor crossing is part of the point.