First Name: Stephen
Last Name: Hart
Date of Birth: 30 Nov 1964
Date of Death: 14 Feb 2025
Town of Death: Staten Island
County of Death: Richmond
State of Death: New York
Those who know Stephen Hart, whether they’re a close friend or a casual acquaintance, surely can’t help but think talented sportswriter and inspiring teacher.
Or even sports aficionado, movie buff and someone who adored both The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
What some might not know was Hart’s penchant for making people laugh. He’d do anything for a mere chuckle.
Former Staten Island Advance sportswriter Dan O’Leary gave a first-hand example of Hart’s comedy stylings from his days at the paper.
“I worked with Steve for seven years and no one hit a pun harder — or more often,‘’ remembers O’Leary. “Steve was a volume shooter with puns. In the sports office of the Advance, he would throw out headline puns, lede puns or any kind of pun or joke you could think of. Steve went for it.
“He went for a laugh in both his writing and verbally from his usual spot in the back corner,‘’ O’Leary remembers. ”It’s how it was working with the guy, tossing out joke grenades looking for a laugh or a groan or anything to get us to turn around.‘’
Hart, who was an integral part of the Advance Sports Department for over 2 1/2 decades and a well-respected teacher at St. Joseph by-the-Sea since 2009, died Friday morning after a short illness.
The ex-Midland Beach resident was 60.
Hart is survived by his beloved parents, Patricia and Kenneth, as well as his two older brothers, Michael and Kenneth, their respective wives, Debbie and Judy, and one niece, Jordan.
“Steve was not only funny, smart, generous and caring, but a great son, brother, writer and teacher,‘’ said brother Michael. ”He was also a great friend to many. He filled many people with happiness in his too-short 60 years.
“To say he’ll be missed is a huge understatement.‘’
Former Staten Island Advance/SILive.com sportswriter Stephen Hart was an avid fan of the New York Mets. He didn’t pass up the opportunity to interview Mr. Met on Aug. 2, 2014. (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores) Staff-ShotStaff-Shot
Hart not only earned the reputation of a consummate professional, but someone who was extremely generous.
“Newspaper sports departments tend to be independent, and the Advance’s was no different. So I didn’t know the sports team as well as I knew the news team,‘’ explained Advance executive director Brian Laline. ”But Steve Hart was different. You couldn’t help but get to know Steve because of his incredibly charming and outgoing personality. Plus, we went to the same church in Midland Beach — St. Margaret Mary’s. I’d see him every Sunday and we’d talk a little after Mass.
“One day, many years ago, he came in my office and handed me a somewhat-tattered piece of paper from a reporter’s notebook with something scribbled on it. Turned out to be Mohammed Ali’s autograph,‘’ Laline continued. ”Ali was at a promotional event at the ballpark in St. George. I was so taken by it that I never asked Steve why he thought of me when getting the autograph.
“To this day, I still don’t know. But to this day, I still treasure it. That was Steve — always thinking of someone else. A rare person who we all will miss.‘’
Hart was born in Manhattan on Nov. 30, 1964, but always considered himself a native of Staten Island.
He attended the now-defunct St. Margaret Mary’s parochial school in Midland Beach and was a proud 1982 graduate of Monsignor Farrell High School in Oakwood. He then received a bachelor’s degree in English at the College of Staten Island.
Steve Hart presents Farrell head baseball coach Bobby Mulligan with the Advance Sportman of the Year award. February 24, 2016 (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores) Staff-ShotStaff-Shot
Hart joined the Advance sports staff one day before his 25th birthday in 1989 and it didn’t take long to realize he was a skilled and witty journalist. Eventually, he was at the forefront of most of the major high school beats like football, boys’ basketball and baseball.
Hart, in fact, held various roles in the sports department. In addition to his role as a beat reporter, he was a features writer; an editor for national sports copy, a paginator for inside pages, including the sports agate page.
In September of 1993, Hart became the Advance’s high school sports columnist, a job he held until June 2004.
From July 2004 through October 2005, Hart switched over to the News Department, working as a reporter and doing features writing. As further proof of his sense of humor, after deciding to leave sports to join news at the Advance, Hart took a picture of himself standing in front of a sign on a wall at Hanley Funeral Home in New Dorp that reads, “Life has not ended, but merely changed.‘’ He then made photo copies and inserted the picture in the newsroom mailbox of each member of the sports department.
However, he returned to sports in November of 2005 and resumed the majority of the responsibilities he had prior to joining news.
Stephen Hart, right, a 2015 inductee of the Staten Island Advance 25-year Club, shares a word with former colleague Mary Lee at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield in 2015. Staff-ShotStaff-Shot
Regardless of which department he worked in, he always did a superb job.
“Whatever he did for us on the newspaper — columnist, reporter, copy desk — he did it well and he made us better and as one of his editors, I always appreciated that,” said Carmine Angioli, the Advance’s sports editor from 2000-2014 and currently the paper’s sports print curator. “But more important than that was Steve’s spirit, humor and attitude. He is among the kindest souls I’ve ever come across, not just in this profession but anywhere. All of us will miss him very much.”
While still working at the Advance, Hart took a part-time job as a teacher at Sea in 2009. He initially started teaching a special writing lab class for freshmen, then eventually started teaching English to freshmen honors students.
Hart left the Advance in 2016, but not before accepting a full-time teaching position at Sea — a position he still held at the time of his death. He immensely enjoyed teaching and often kept tabs on the student-athletes of the Huguenot school.
Throughout his life, Hart was known for his generosity and on numerous occasions, upon merely hearing about an item a friend liked, he’d often purchase it and presented it to the individual as a surprise.
“Besides his generosity, Steve’s most endearing quality was his heart,‘’ said former Advance sports editor Lou Bergonzi. ”No one had a bigger one, or one that gave as much love to everyone he knew as Steve’s.
“We’ve all lost a best friend.‘’
In addition to writing about sports, Hart was a pro and college sports aficionado. He was a huge fan of the New York Mets, Minnesota Vikings, New York Rangers and New York Knicks, as well as the University of Notre Dame.
Former Staten Island Advance sportswriter Stephen Hart, right, had some sense of humor. When his Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants squared off in the NFC championship in January of 2001, he broke out his ‘Viking horns’ and went head-to-head with colleague Charlie De Biase Jr., who’s an avid Giants fan. (Staten Island Advance)Staten Island Advance
The diehard fan often attended games to root on his favorite teams and also enjoyed meeting friends at Miller’s Ale House in New Springville to watch NFL football on a Sunday afternoon.
Hart was also a huge fan of fantasy sports and won his league on multiple occasions through the years.
Hart, who was a Greenridge resident at the time of his death, was also a movie buff who often viewed films at theaters, then shared his opinion of the flick on social media. He rarely, if ever, missed an episode of the Oscars and loved debating about the winners afterwards.
As previously mentioned, Hart was a big fan of The Beatles and Elvis Presley, as well as classic rock music in general.
Whether it was sports, movies, music and the like, Hart loved trivia and discussions. In fact, he’d often ask interesting questions on social media that more often than not ignited conversations.
In his earlier days, he enjoyed going on cruises.
Hart never missed an opportunity to spend time with his parents and deeply appreciated everything they’ve done for him throughout his life.
He also loved animals — particularly dogs — and often scanned the internet and posted what he perceived as adorable pictures on social media.
Visiting, Hanley Funeral Home, Sunday 2/23/2025 from 2pm-6pm
Funeral Service 2/24/2025, at St Joseph by the Sea High School 10:15am, 5150 Hylan Blvd, Staten Island, NY, 10312
The funeral mass is open to everyone in the community not limited to just the St. Joseph by the Sea students. All are welcomed to attend.
Private cremation to follow