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Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills features waterfront access, the FDR Boardwalk, and a mix of housing types. Mid-island location with moderate prices.
Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills features waterfront access, the FDR Boardwalk, and a mix of housing types. Mid-island location with moderate prices.
Did you know?
South Beach's FDR Boardwalk stretches 2.5 miles along the shore and is one of the fourth longest boardwalks in the world.
Who’s your neighbor?
Housing cost
$843 / sq ft
Commute
Weekday mornings · leaving 7:30–9:00
- FromGrasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills
- ToNear Bryant Park
Family scores
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Trade-offs
Stands out
- Air & Child Health99/100
Cleaner air and better child-health measures
- Affordability89/100
Lower costs than most
- Safety84/100
Fewer reported crimes, traffic injuries and serious housing violations per resident
To weigh
- Family-Friendly Vibe20/100
Fewer families with children than most
- Transit22/100
Longer weekday-morning trips to the city's main job centers
Each score compares it with NYC's other residential neighborhoods.
What these scores don't measure: how a block feels on foot, what's changing on it, and whether a particular school suits your child. Walk it at school drop-off time, and check the zoned school for the exact address before you sign a lease.
Your family’s read
How does Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills fit your family?
An agentic read of this neighborhood — including safety and cost of living — tailored to your priorities, family size, budget, and commute.
Analyze for My FamilySchools & early education
Schools12 schools
Grasmere-Arrochar offers a genuinely mixed bag when it comes to schools — you've got your zoned public options like P.S. 11 Thomas Dongan School and P.S. 048 William G. Wilcox sitting alongside several Catholic and private academies along Hylan Boulevard. The Catholic school presence is notably strong in this pocket, with St. Joseph Hill Academy and Father Vincent Capodanno Catholic both drawing local families. A handful of preschools and early learning centers round things out, though options thin out a bit as kids move into middle and high school years.
Browse all early-ed in this neighborhoodLiving here
Parks & Playgrounds6 places
Five playgrounds spread across this quiet stretch of the South Shore gives families more options than you might expect from an area that feels more residential than destination. Arrochar Playground and Gen. Douglas MacArthur Park anchor the inland part of the neighborhood, while Playland Playground near the FDR Boardwalk throws in beach access as a bonus. The tree cover varies block to block, but what's here is usable and well-maintained.
1 playground within a 10-min walk
Nearest large park: Great Kills Park · ~91 min walk (3.5 mi)
Transportation115 stops
If you're relying on transit, the SIR is your backbone here — Dongan Hills, Grasmere, and Old Town stations thread you along the North Shore toward the ferry. The bus network along Clove Road, Father Capodanno Boulevard, and Hylan Boulevard fills in the gaps, but heads up: there's no direct subway to Manhattan. You're looking at the Staten Island Ferry or a long bus ride to reach the other boroughs. It's doable, but the commute clock ticks differently.
Restaurants73 places
Hylan Boulevard anchors this stretch with a deep bench of Italian delis, old-school pizzerias, and family-run ristorantes — the kind of place where a Saturday dinner out still feels neighborhood-native. Beyond the red-sauce scene, you'll find solid sushi, solid Indian, and a few Caribbean and Peruvian spots that have settled in nicely. Bagels and delis are everywhere, which makes grabbing breakfast or a quick lunch genuinely easy. It's not fancy, but there's real depth here for a neighborhood this size, and the variety punches above what you'd expect from a Staten Island side street.
Groceries5 places
The grocery scene in Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills is thin but functional — there's no Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, but Key Food on Sand Lane and Met Food on Hylan cover the weekly basics. CTown on Clove Road adds a third option, and for specialty items, there's Tastebud's Natural Foods plus the small but serviceable Ariana Food Market further down Hylan. Most families will need a car to load up, though the Key Food and Met Food locations sit close enough together for a quick top-up on foot.
Coffee Shops11 places
Hylan Boulevard anchors the coffee scene here, with a solid lineup of neighborhood cafes and bagel shops packed into a few blocks — more counter-service morning spots than third-wave hangouts, but exactly what works for a quick grab-and-go. It's thin on national chains, so don't expect a Starbucks on every corner, but the local options cover the basics without much fuss.
Things to Do24 places
This stretch of Staten Island is beach central for South Shore families — the beach area and boardwalk dominate the landscape, giving you endless sand and sea without leaving the neighborhood. When the weather flips, dance studios cluster along the main drag, a handful of pools serve lap swimmers and kids alike, and the sports fields stay busy on weekends. Indoor enrichment and active options are thinner, but the outdoor lineup more than makes up for it.
Daycare & informal care1 place
Grasmere, South Beach and Dongan Hills have a deep bench of Pre-K options through the public schools — several zoned elementary schools and a handful of parochial programs run pre-K seats. Private daycare is thinner, with just a couple of standalone options, so families needing full-day daycare beyond the pre-K years may need to look a bit farther afield. Morning drop-off around the school zones on Targee and Hylan can get congested.
Family Resources4 places
Staten Island's southern shore gives families a decent baseline of public anchors, even if it's not drowning in options. South Beach Library on Father Capodanno serves as the neighborhood's quiet anchor for story hours and homework help, while a trio of playgrounds — including Old Town Playground on Parkinson Avenue and Arrochar Playground on McFarland — gives kids room to spread out. It's a modest setup, not overflow, though the public resources here feel solid and well-tended for a community that's largely owner-occupied.
Healthcare18 places
Staten Island University Hospital North anchors the North Shore medical scene, with South Beach Psychiatric Center and the cancer institute at Mason Avenue providing specialized backup. Pediatric care is thin — just a couple of options clustered near Old Town Road, so families often branch out. Urgent care fills some gaps with a few centers along Hylan and Mason, though the east side coverage is spotty. Dental options are stronger, with a half-dozen practices scattered across the commercial strips — not deep bench territory, but what's there runs the gamut from family-focused to specialty work.
Compare with nearby neighborhoods
Best schools in Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills
Schools in Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills
12
- ACADEMY OF ST DOROTHY
- FATHER VINCENT CAPODANNO CATHOLIC
- MOTHER FRANCISKA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- Naples Street Elementary School
- P.S. 046 Albert V. Maniscalco
- P.S. 048 William G. Wilcox
- P.S. 11 Thomas Dongan School
- P.S. 39 Francis J. Murphy Jr.
- RICHMOND MEDICAL CENTER - DONGAN
- SETON FOUNDATION - JOAN & KENNEDY
- SMILES AROUND US ACADEMY
- ST JOSEPH HILL ACADEMY ELEM SCHOOL
Early education in Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills
18
- Academy of Saint Dorothy
- ACADEMY OF ST DOROTHY
- FATHER VINCENT CAPODANNO CATHOLIC
- Holy Rosary School
- Little Smarties Preschool
- MOTHER FRANCISKA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- NAPLES STREET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- New U Tots 3-K
- P.S. 046 Albert V. Maniscalco
- P.S. 048 WILLIAM G. WILCOX
- P.S. 11 Thomas Dongan School
- SAINT ANN SCHOOL
- SMILES AROUND US ACADEMY
- Smiles Around Us II, Inc.
- ST JOSEPH HILL ACADEMY ELEM SCHOOL
- St. Ann School
- WE R EXPLORERS LLC
- We R Explorers Preschool
All early education in Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills →
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills a good neighborhood for families?
- Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills scores 60/100 for families on Motley — ahead of most NYC neighborhoods. The Family Fit score blends six parts: how many families live there, schools, affordability, weekday-morning transit time to job centers, safety, and air quality and child health.
- What are the pros and cons of Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills for families?
- For families, Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills stands out for cleaner air and better child-health measures; lower costs than most; and fewer reported crimes, traffic injuries and serious housing violations per resident. What to weigh: fewer families with children than most, and longer weekday-morning trips to the city's main job centers. Each score compares it with NYC's other residential neighborhoods. They don't measure how a block feels on foot or whether a particular school suits your child, so walk it before you decide.
- Is Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills safe?
- Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills scores 84/100 on safety — ahead of most NYC neighborhoods. We build the score from NYPD crime complaints, pedestrian and cyclist injuries, and serious (Class C) housing violations, each counted per 1,000 residents.
- How are the schools in Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills?
- Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills has 12 schools mapped inside its boundary and scores 44/100 for schools — near the middle of the pack citywide.
- How do middle and high school admissions work from Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills?
- Middle school: families in Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills apply in 5th grade through the citywide middle school application. District 31's 28 middle school programs admit by method: 13 zoned, 7 unscreened, 6 screened and 2 charter lottery. High school: one citywide application in 8th grade lets a family rank programs anywhere in the city, and the eight specialized high schools admit on the SHSAT alone.
- Is Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills affordable?
- Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills scores 89/100 for affordability on Motley — more affordable than most NYC neighborhoods.
- Which borough is Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills in?
- Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills is a neighborhood in Staten Island, New York City.
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