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Great Kills-Eltingville is a large residential area with beach access, youth sports leagues, and family-oriented retail. Affordable suburban housing close to parks.
Great Kills-Eltingville is a large residential area with beach access, youth sports leagues, and family-oriented retail. Affordable suburban housing close to parks.
Did you know?
Great Kills Harbor was originally a natural tidal inlet — in the 1940s, the Army Corps of Engineers built a stone breakwater that created the protected harbor that exists today.
Who’s your neighbor?
Housing cost
$498 / sq ft
Commute
Weekday mornings · leaving 7:30–9:00
- FromGreat Kills-Eltingville
- ToNear Bryant Park
Family scores
Show 5 moreShow fewer
Trade-offs
Stands out
- Schools100/100
Strong results at the public and charter schools serving it
- Safety99/100
Fewer reported crimes, traffic injuries and serious housing violations per resident
- Air & Child Health94/100
Cleaner air and better child-health measures
To weigh
- Transit1/100
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 Great Kills-Eltingville 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
Schools9 schools
Great Kills-Eltingville offers a deep bench of public schools — twelve zoned and magnet options serve the neighborhood, including I.S. 024 Myra S. Barnes and P.S. 032 The Gifford School. Two private schools add variety: St. Clare School and Yeshiva Rabbi Jacob Joseph for Boys. The mix means families can often find a zoned option close by, though options thin out toward the edges of the catchment.
Browse all early-ed in this neighborhoodLiving here
Parks & Playgrounds5 places
Great Kills-Eltingville packs a solid punch when it comes to playgrounds — four options spread across the neighborhood gives families real variety without needing to chase across town. Great Kills Veterans Playground and Greencroft Playground anchor the north end, while Lieutenant John H. Martinson Playground and the Seaside Wildlife Nature Playground cover the south. What stands out is the mix: traditional swings-and-slides setups sit alongside nature-focused play spaces, so kids with different vibes both get their fix. Tree canopy is decent at most locations, which matters when you're wrangling little ones through a summer afternoon.
1 playground within a 10-min walk
Nearest large park: Great Kills Park · ~23 min walk (0.9 mi)
Transportation75 stops
Getting around Great Kills-Eltingville means the Staten Island Railway is your lifeline to the Manhattan-core commute — the Eltingville and Great Kills stops get you to the ferry in about 30-40 minutes, which isn't bad if you're used to the SIR'space. The bus network along Hylan Boulevard and Arthur Kill Road fills in the gaps, but let's be honest: this is still a neighborhood where most families lean on a car for the big errands. The transit is workable, not glamorous.
Restaurants93 places
This is a deeply residential, everyman eating scene — lots of reliable diners, slice shops, and delis where neighbors pop in for coffee and a roll. Amboy Road runs heavy with Italian joints and bakeries, while Richmond Ave and Hylan Blvd split the difference between carryout pizza, sushi spots, and the occasional grill. The bagel and deli game is strong, and there are actually a few solid options for Japanese if you've got a craving. Chain presence is thin outside a couple of Burger Kings and a handful of Dunkin' locations — this is mostly local, and that's the point.
Groceries8 places
Great Kills-Eltingville punches above its weight for groceries — you've got a solid mix along Amboy Road and Greaves Lane, with Stop & Shop, Key Food SuperStore, and ALDI covering the major bases. Top Tomato and Netcost add some nice variety for produce and Eastern European specialties, while the ShopRite nearby rounds things out. For a weekly shop, you're generally fine without a car if you stick to the main drags, though a car makes the haul back much easier.
Coffee Shops12 places
Great Kills-Eltingville's coffee scene leans into the bagel-shop-with-coffee model — a solid lineup of delis and bagel spots like Bagel Box II, Hot Bagels and More, and Country Donuts where the coffee gets the job done but the bagels steal the show. For a caffeine fix, there's a Starbucks on Amboy and a couple of Dunkin' locations, plus indie spots like BrewBar and The Vintage Tea that lean more cafe than counter service. It's not a hotspot, but you won't go far without your morning cup.
Things to Do24 places
Great Kills-Eltingville packs real variety for families looking to burn off energy — the swimming scene is the standout with multiple pools, a swim club, and organized lessons clustered around the main corridors. Beyond the water, there's a solid mix of gymnastics, dance, and martial arts through a couple of independent studios and the local YMCA. A beach, movie theater, and scattered kids' enrichment options round out the offering, making this a go-to spot for active families on Staten Island.
Daycare & informal care2 places
Great Kills-Eltingville leans heavily on its public schools for early childhood, with four P.S. sites — 32, 42, 55, and 8 — all running their own Pre-K programs. That's a deep bench of universal Pre-K right in the neighborhood, though morning drop-off at school sites means joining the elementary queue. A handful of private options like South Shore Toddler Academy and Staten Island Children's Academy add variety, plus a couple standalone daycares, but expect waitlists at the popular ones.
Family Resources5 places
Great Kills-Eltingville keeps families well-stocked on the basics. You've got two solid library options — Great Kills Library on Giffords Lane and Richmondtown Library on Clarke Avenue — both reliable anchors for story hours, homework help, and those just-need-a-break winter afternoons. The playground lineup is unexpectedly deep for a residential pocket: Veterans Playground, Greencroft Playground, and Lieutenant John H. Martinson Playground give kids options without crossing borough lines. It's not flashy, but the civic infrastructure is there when you need it.
Healthcare10 places
Healthcare in Great Kills-Eltingville leans heavily on urgent care and dental — there's no hospital within the neighborhood itself, but two GoHealth locations and a ProHEALTH urgent care give families solid coverage for non-emergencies. Pediatric options are thin with just one practice serving the area, so families may need to travel for a second choice. Dentistry, though, has a deep bench with nearly a half-dozen options covering general and pediatric needs. The trade-off is clear: strong urgent and dental care, but limited pediatric diversity.
Compare with nearby neighborhoods
Best schools in Great Kills-Eltingville
Schools in Great Kills-Eltingville
9
Early education in Great Kills-Eltingville
17
- Congregation Oorah
- P.S. 032 The Gifford School
- P.S. 032 THE GIFFORD SCHOOL
- P.S. 042 Eltingville
- P.S. 055 Henry M. Boehm
- P.S. 8 Shirlee Solomon
- SI YMCA Nursery - South
- South Shore Toddler Academy
- SOUTH SHORE TODDLER ACADEMY & PRE-K
- SOUTH SHORE YMCA
- ST CLARE SCHOOL
- Staten Island Children's Academy
- The Barbara Esselborn School
- The David Marquis School of the Arts
- Unikids
- UNIKIDS DAYCARE
- YESHIVA RABBI JACOB JOSEPH FOR BOYS
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Great Kills-Eltingville a good neighborhood for families?
- Great Kills-Eltingville scores 77/100 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 Great Kills-Eltingville for families?
- For families, Great Kills-Eltingville stands out for strong results at the public and charter schools serving it; fewer reported crimes, traffic injuries and serious housing violations per resident; and cleaner air and better child-health measures. What to weigh: 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 Great Kills-Eltingville safe?
- Great Kills-Eltingville scores 99/100 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 Great Kills-Eltingville?
- Great Kills-Eltingville has 9 schools mapped inside its boundary and scores 100/100 for schools — ahead of most NYC neighborhoods.
- How do middle and high school admissions work from Great Kills-Eltingville?
- Middle school: families in Great Kills-Eltingville 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 Great Kills-Eltingville affordable?
- Great Kills-Eltingville scores 91/100 for affordability on Motley — more affordable than most NYC neighborhoods.
- Which borough is Great Kills-Eltingville in?
- Great Kills-Eltingville is a neighborhood in Staten Island, New York City.
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