Downsizing in Great Kills and Eltingville, Staten Island

Great Kills and Eltingville at a glance

NYC Planning's Staten Island office says the name Great Kills comes from the Dutch word for creek or channel, and that the Dutch first settled the area in the early 1600s. Great Kills sits between Bay Terrace to the east and Eltingville to the west, with Great Kills Harbor to the south, and the station is the halfway point on the Staten Island Railway. The city's study says that when the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in the 1960s, families moved to the island in large numbers, and that the corner of Amboy Road and Nelson Avenue was then a busy business district that locals called "The Village."

Today the study calls Great Kills a residential community with a small commercial town center. Its own study area is 61.5 percent low-density residential land. Eltingville Commons, a shopping center built for drivers, lies about half a mile south of the station.

Sources: NYC Planning, Great Kills Transportation Study (May 2025); NYC Community Boards.

Housing for downsizers in Great Kills and Eltingville

The 2025 study lists the residential zoning districts near the station and says they allow several kinds of home, so a search here can include more than one type:

• Detached and semi-detached houses. The study lists single-family detached houses and detached and semi-detached one- and two-family homes. A smaller house on a modest lot can suit an owner who wants to keep a yard. Check stairs, the roof, the boiler and drainage. The guide to co-ops, condos, townhouses and houses compares upkeep.
• Attached houses. The study lists low-rise attached houses. An attached home can be owned outright, as a condominium unit or within a homeowners' association, and each has its own rules and fees. Ask which applies.
• Apartments near the station. The study describes older mixed commercial and residential buildings along Amboy Road and Giffords Lane, generally no taller than five stories, and notes that zoning also allows small apartment buildings. Whether any given apartment is a co-op, a condo or a rental has to come from documents. Read the co-op and condo buying guide.

The state's property condition disclosure statement covers one to four family homes but not condominiums, co-ops or homeowners' association property that is not held in fee simple. See New York seller disclosures.

Sources: NYC Planning, Great Kills Transportation Study; NY Real Property Law, section 461.

Getting around Great Kills and Eltingville

• Staten Island Railway. The Great Kills station is at Giffords Lane near Amboy Road, and Eltingville has its own station on the same line. The MTA lists Great Kills as accessible, with ramps on both sides, and its timetable says service runs 24 hours a day to St. George and the ferry. NYC Planning's study, citing the MTA, adds an express train during weekday rush hours that takes 18 minutes between Great Kills and St. George.
• Buses. The study lists the S54 as the local route through its study area, with a stop at Giffords Lane and Baltimore Street. It lists the SIM1, SIM5, SIM6, SIM7, SIM9 and SIM10 as Manhattan express routes serving the neighborhood. Check the MTA's Staten Island bus schedules for current routes.
• On foot. The study says the commercial area near the station has older buildings that support walking, but that the streets are narrow and irregular, only three streets cross the railway (Armstrong Avenue, Giffords Lane and Greaves Avenue) and some blocks lack sidewalks. Walk your own route to the station before you buy.
• Half fare at 65. The MTA's Reduced-Fare program is open to anyone 65 or older and covers the Staten Island Railway. On express buses the reduced fare applies at all times except weekday peak periods, 6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. See our guide to getting around after 65.

Sources: MTA, Staten Island Railway timetable; MTA accessible stations; MTA Reduced-Fare; NYC Planning, Great Kills Transportation Study (above).

Health care near Great Kills

Staten Island University Hospital, part of Northwell Health, runs two emergency departments open around the clock: Prince's Bay (South) at 375 Seguine Avenue and Ocean Breeze (North) at 475 Seaview Avenue. Richmond University Medical Center is at 355 Bard Avenue (rumcsi.org). Check that your doctors and plan participate before you rely on any one hospital.

Everyday life in Great Kills and Eltingville

• Great Kills Park. The National Park Service, which runs it as part of Gateway National Recreation Area, describes a 523-acre park on the South Shore. It has a lifeguarded beach from Memorial Day through Labor Day, a multi-use path, hiking and biking trails, fishing areas, a marina and a boat launch, and it is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. except by permit. See the park page.
• Amboy Road and Nelson Avenue. The commercial center around the station falls within the South Shore Business Improvement District, and the city's study counts 113 storefronts in its study area.
• Great Kills Library. A New York Public Library branch on Giffords Lane. Find hours on the branch page.
• Older adult centers. The city's study lists the Great Kills Friendship Club at the Great Kills Neighborhood Senior Center, and Staten Island Friendship Clubs names a Great Kills Older Adult Center among its centers. The Staten Island Jewish Community Center lists an Avis/South Shore center at 1297 Arthur Kill Road. NYC Aging's finder lists others, and membership is free for New Yorkers 60 and older.

Storms, flooding and insurance in Great Kills

The city's post-Sandy report says the storm struck with particular ferocity in the East and South Shores of Staten Island, and Richmond County was among the counties in the federal disaster declaration in October 2012. That describes areas rather than addresses. Great Kills sits on Great Kills Harbor. NYC Planning's study also notes Bluebelt drainage systems within its study area; the city describes Bluebelts as a flood mitigation system, which is not a guarantee for any one property.

• Enter the address in the city's Hurricane Evacuation Zone Finder. The city explains its six zones on its evacuation page.
• Check the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Evacuation zones and FEMA flood zones are different maps.
• Ask about a separate flood policy, since standard homeowners, condo and co-op policies exclude flood. FloodHelpNY has guidance.
• Ask about basement water after heavy rain, and whether the seller has flood claims to disclose. The state's 2025 disclosure form asks about them.

Our flood and storm insurance guide explains the details.

Sources: NYC, A Stronger, More Resilient New York, chapter 1; NYS DHSES, FEMA-4085-DR-NY; NYS Department of State, disclosure form.

Property taxes and local government in Great Kills

Great Kills is in Richmond County, and the city bills property tax. The Senior Citizen Homeowners' Exemption covers one to three family homes, condos and co-ops (co-ops apply separately) for owners 65 or older with combined income of $58,399 or less, by March 15 (March 16 in 2026). Enhanced STAR reduces school taxes for owners 65 and older within its income limit, and a buyer registers with the state. In a co-op or condo, the board applies for the city's tax abatement for the whole building. On a sale, state and city transfer taxes apply; the net proceeds calculator estimates them. Read costs and money and the senior property tax exemptions guide, and have a New York lawyer or CPA confirm the figures.

Sources: NYC 311, SCHE; NY Tax Department, STAR; NYC Finance, co-op and condo abatement.

Questions to ask before you buy in Great Kills

• Is this a house owned outright, a condominium unit or part of a homeowners' association, and what do the documents say?
• If it is a semi-detached or attached home, what is shared (walls, driveways, drainage) and who pays for repairs?
• How would I reach the railway station, a bus stop or the shops, and are there sidewalks the whole way?
• Which express bus would I use to Manhattan, and how far is its stop?
• What do the evacuation zone finder and FEMA's map show for this address?
• When were the roof, boiler and drainage last replaced, and has the basement taken on water?

The downsizing plan lays out the steps. See the rest of Staten Island or the North Shore's St. George and New Brighton. To be introduced to an agent, get matched with one on the operating team at eXp Realty. Introductions go only to agents on that team, so this is not a search of the whole market.