I also thought of Penn State, but came to the same conclusion. I wanted to play in a community orchestra when I moved here but the orchestral groups here are either limited to undergrads (which won’t matter to the OP lol) or seem geared towards music students and more professional players. (I’m returning to flute after taking it for 10 years in school but then forgetting about it for 10 more years, lol).
Columbia’s orchestra may be pretty difficult to get into for non-majors but they have other musical offerings both at the university and in the city. For example, one of my students (a French major) was in the flute choir. There are 20 different student chamber groups in the music performance program; you should check it out! There are also tons and tons and tons of community orchestras and ensembles in New York - for people of all levels, from professional-level players who chose other careers to people who just started or are just returning and want to play in a group.
TCNJ has an orchestra - not sure what the level of competition is to get into it. Temple has several different musical ensembles - their symphony orchestra might be difficult/competitive because of their school of music, but they also have a chamber orchestra, an opera orchestra, a contemporary ensemble and a bunch of ad hoc ensembles they form every semester.