Great Kills, Staten Island

i moved here from bayridge brooklyn 3 years ago, i find it is very similiar in ways. it has a great friendly family environment to it, there are plenty of restaurants lining hylan blvd, as well as mom and pop stores, people are friendly and great you as you walk down the quiet streets.its close proximity to all highways and outer boros, as well as new jersey. im glad i picked this area in staten island, i wouldnt live any where else.

With its family-friendly atmosphere, Great Kills is the kind of place where people settle, sometimes for generations on end. About 26,000 people, most all of them middle and upper-middle class, live in Great Kills. More than 90 percent of the residents are white, and there remains a strong Italian presence. It’s the continuity of the place — and what some describe as Old World charm — that residents often find appealing.

Many residents call Great Kills a town, not a neighborhood. The neighborhood boundaries are somewhat ambiguous, but many consider the borders to be Richmond Avenue to the southwest, Arthur Kill Road to the north, and Fieldway and Greaves Avenues on the eastern side.

Yacht clubs, marinas and large new homes fill the area nearest to the water. Along Tennyson Drive and the aptly named Mansion Avenue in particular, grandiose new homes, many of them brick colonials, overlook the water.

In between, clustered near the train station at Nelson Avenue and Amboy Road, is the commercial center. Bagel shops, pizzerias, beauty salons, a post office and library make up a small downtown.