Great Kills is a neighborhood within the borough of Staten Island in New York City. It is located on the island's South Shore, and according to many local geographers, it is the South Shore's northernmost community. It is bordered by Richmondtown to the north, Bay Terrace to the east, Eltingville to the west, and Great Kills Harbor to the south.[1]
Kill is an archaic Dutch word with various popular translations, including "creek" and "channel". Indeed, many small streams dot the neighborhood, and the name can be interpreted as meaning that a great number of such streams can be found there.[2]
The eastern half of what has been known since 1865 as Great Kills was originally named Clarendon after a British colonial governor, and the western half was named Newtown. For a time, both were known as Giffords, after Daniel Gifford, a local commissioner and surveyor.[2][7] The name survives in Giffords Lane and Giffords Glen, which are adjacent to the Great Kills train station that was formerly named Giffords, and also in the Gifford School, P.S. 32. The term "Great Kills" traces back informally at least to 1664, the final year of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, when French settler Jacques Guyon called the area "La Grand Kills".[1]
From the 1680s when English colonial government was organized, until 1898 when Staten Island consolidated into New York City, eastern Great Kills was officially part of the town of Southfield, Richmond County, New York, and western Great Kills was officially part of Westfield.[8][9] Great Kills and Staten Island's other East Shore neighborhoods were mostly rural and dotted with shoreline resorts until the 1950s, after which the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge brought heavy residential growth from Brooklyn.[1]
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Great Kills was 40,720, a change of -960 (-2.4%) from the 41,680 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 2,076.96 acres (3.25sqmi; 840.52ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 19.6 inhabitants per acre (12,500/sqmi; 4,800/km2).[12] The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 87.5% (35,649) White, 0.4% (169) African American, 0.1% (26) Native American, 3.0% (1,233) Asian, 0.0% (8) Pacific Islander, 0.1% (56) from other races, and 0.8% (331) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.0% (3,248) of the population.[13]
The entirety of Community District 3, which comprises Great Kills and other South Shore neighborhoods, had 159,132 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 81.3 years at birth.[14]:2,20 This is about the same as the life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.[15]:53 (PDF p. 84)[16] Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 21% are between the ages of 0 and 17, 26% between 25 and 44, and 29% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 8% and 16% respectively.[14]:2
As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 3 was $96,796.[17] In 2018, an estimated 11% of South Shore residents lived in poverty, compared to 17% in all of Staten Island and 20% in all of New York City. On average during 2012–2016, one in sixteen South Shore residents (6%) were unemployed, compared to 6% in Staten Island and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of renters who paid more than 30% of their income for housing, was 42% for the South Shore, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 49% and 51%, respectively. As of 2018[update], Great Kills and the South Shore were considered middle- to high-income relative to the rest of the city, and not gentrifying.[14]:7
Great Kills is patrolled by the 122nd Precinct of the NYPD,[6] after shifting out of the 123rd when Staten Island's precinct maps were redrawn on July 1, 2013.[19] The neighborhoods represented by these two precincts were the two safest (out of 69) in a 2010 study of New York's per-capita crime statistics.[20][21] With a non-fatal assault rate of 25 per 100,000 people (2012–2014), the South Shore's rate of violent crimes per capita was less than half that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 193 per 100,000 people (2015–2016) was also less than half that of the city as a whole.[14]:8 The rate of licensed gun ownership was among the city's highest in the 2010 study, as was the rate of opioid abuse.[20]
Like most of New York City, the 122nd Precinct has a substantially lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 88% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported one murder, eight rapes, 63 robberies, 128 felony assaults, 91 burglaries, 373 grand larcenies, and 136 grand larcenies auto in 2022.[22]
Fire safety
Great Kills is served by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Engine Company 162, Ladder Company 82, and Battalion 23, located at 256 Nelson Avenue.[23][24]
Health
Preterm and teenage births are less common in Great Kills and the South Shore than in other places citywide. For the South Shore in 2015, there were 77 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 3.6 teenage births per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).[14]:11 The South Shore has a relatively low percentage of residents who are uninsured. The population of uninsured adults was estimated to be 4%, less than the citywide rate of 12%, though this was based on a small sample size in 2015–2016.[14]:14
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, was 0.0066 milligrams per cubic metre (6.6×10−9oz/cuft) for the South Shore, 12% less than the city average.[14]:9 In 2015–2016, 17% of South Shore adults were smokers, which was higher than the city average of 14%.[14]:13 For the South Shore, 26% of adults were obese, 9% were diabetic, and 22% had high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28%, respectively.[14]:16 In addition, 17% of children were obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.[14]:12
Ninety-five percent of South Shore adults ate some fruits and vegetables every day, which was more than the city's average of 87%. In 2015–2016, 88% of adults described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", more than the city's average of 78%.[14]:13 For every supermarket on the South Shore, there were 4 bodegas.[14]:10 During late 2020, Great Kills spent weeks with the highest coronavirus rate of any New York City ZIP Code,[25][26] and in the center of a State-designated "Orange Zone" cluster of cases.[27]
Great Kills generally is coextensive with the ZIP Code 10308, which the United States Postal Service serves from its Great Kills Station at 1 Nelson Avenue.[29] A small portion of ZIP Code 10306, between Amboy Road and Siedenburg Park, is sometimes considered part of the Great Kills neighborhood.
Education
New York Public Library, Great Kills branch
Great Kills and the South Shore generally have a similar rate of college-educated residents to the rest of the city. While 41% of South Shore residents of age 25+ had a college education or higher in 2012–2016, 8% had less than a high school education and 51% were high school graduates or had some college education. Citywide, 43% of adults had a college education or higher.[14]:6 The percentage of South Shore students achieving at grade level in math rose from 48% in 2000 to 65% in 2011, though reading achievement declined from 55% to 52% during the same time period.[30]
For the South Shore, 12% of elementary school students were absent for 19 or more days of the 2016–2017 school year, less than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 89% of high school students from the South Shore graduated on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.[14]:6
Schools
Barnes I.S. 24 in Great Kills is one of Staten Island's public intermediate schools (grades 6–8), named for the local educator and civic activist Myra S. Barnes (1880–1962). Dubbed the "Fighting Lady", she was well known for highlighting Staten Island issues to the New York City government.[31] Firefighter Scott Davidson, lost in the September 11 attacks of 2001, attended I.S. 24, and is one of 29 local victims memorialized by an eternal flame at St. Clare's, the neighborhood's prominent Catholic church and parochial school.[32]
In 2009, The New York Times reported: "The three public schools in Great Kills, two of them elementary schools [P.S. 8 and P.S. 32], are among the best in the city."[33] In 2008, Today's Catholic Teacher magazine selected St. Clare's School as one of twelve nationwide to receive the "Catholic Schools for Tomorrow Award".[34]
Libraries
The New York Public Library (NYPL) operates two locations nearby. The Great Kills branch is located at 56 Giffords Lane. The branch was opened in 1927 as a one-story building and was replaced by the current three-story building in 1954. Fully renovated in 2005, it currently has a lower level for community events, a first floor for adults, and a second floor for children's collections.[35][36]
The Richmondtown branch is located at 200 Clarke Avenue, just outside Great Kills. It opened in 1996 and contains two floors: a first floor for adults and a second floor for children.[37]
Recreation
Great Kills Harbor in 2008
The neighborhood is home to the Great Kills Little League, one of eight Little Leagues on Staten Island, and winner of the state baseball championship in 2011.[38] Another thousand neighborhood children participate in sports teams organized through St. Clare's Church and its spin-off Great Kills Soccer Club.[39][40] St. Clare's cheerleading squad won a Northeast divisional championship in 2016.[41]
Located right beside the Great Kills Little League is the Great Kills Swim Club. This is a private club that belongs to over 500 families and competes in swimming and diving with other swim clubs in the borough. The Great Kills Swim Club is the site of the 2015 movie Staten Island Summer written by comedian Colin Jost, who was a lifeguard there as a teenager.[42] The neighborhood also plays a key role in the 2009 Dutch film Great Kills Road.[43]
Great Kills was the site of the first middleweight boxing championship, when Nonpareil Jack Dempsey defeated George Fulljames in 1884 for the title.[44]
At the southeastern corner of the neighborhood is Great Kills Park, part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. The park includes a beach, trails, fishing and bird-watching areas, sports fields, and the Nichols Marina,[45] with several private marinas nearby. The shorefront has required extensive work after heavy damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012.[46][47]
Staten Island is the southernmost borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York. The borough is separated from the adjacent state of New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. With a population of 495,747 in the 2020 Census, Staten Island is the least populated New York City borough but the third largest in land area at 58.5 sq mi (152 km2); it is also the least densely populated and most suburban borough in the city.
New Dorp is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City, United States. New Dorp is bounded by Mill Road on the southeast, Tysens Lane on the southwest, Amboy and Richmond Roads on the northwest, and Bancroft Avenue on the northeast. It is adjacent to Oakwood to the southwest, Todt Hill to the northwest, Dongan Hills and Grant City, and Midland Beach and Miller Field to the southeast. New Dorp Beach, bordering to the east, is often listed on maps as a separate neighborhood from Mill Road to the shore of Lower New York Bay, but is generally considered to be a part of New Dorp.
Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost neighborhood and settlement in both New York City and New York State, as well as the westernmost neighborhood in New York City. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts the New York Bight while the west and north sides are bordered by the Arthur Kill. Nassau Place, Bethel Avenue and Page Avenue form the neighborhood's eastern border.
The South Shore is a geographical term applied to the area in the New York City borough of Staten Island, south and east of the island's ridge of hills along the waterfront and adjacent areas from the Narrows to the mouth of the Arthur Kill. Many observers prefer to restrict its scope to the neighborhoods located between the shoreline of Raritan Bay on one side and Richmond Creek and Fresh Kills on the other, thus encompassing the neighborhoods of Great Kills to Tottenville only. Those who use this narrower definition of the "South Shore" prefer the term "East Shore" for the communities that lie along Lower New York Bay, and inland for approximately 2 to 2+1⁄2 miles, from Bay Terrace and Richmondtown to as far north as Grasmere and Concord. The South Shore is represented in the New York City Council by Joe Borelli.
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St. George is a neighborhood on the northeastern tip of Staten Island in New York City, along the waterfront where the Kill Van Kull enters Upper New York Bay. It is the most densely developed neighborhood on Staten Island, and the location of the administrative center for the borough and for the coterminous Richmond County. The St. George Terminal, serving the Staten Island Ferry and the Staten Island Railway, is also located here. St. George is bordered on the south by the neighborhood of Tompkinsville and on the west by the neighborhood of New Brighton.
Stapleton is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island in New York City, United States. It is located along the waterfront of Upper New York Bay, roughly bounded on the north by Tompkinsville at Grant Street, on the south by Clifton at Vanderbilt Avenue, and on the west by St. Paul's Avenue and Van Duzer Street, which form the border with the community of Grymes Hill.
Midland Beach is a neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City. It lies along the east-central coast of the island, in the area known locally as the "Mid-Island, Staten Island" or the "East Shore".
Port Richmond is a neighborhood situated on the North Shore of Staten Island, a borough of New York City. Port Richmond is bounded by Kill van Kull on the north, Clove Road on the east, Forest Avenue on the south, and the Bayonne Bridge on the west. It is adjacent to West New Brighton to the east, Westerleigh to the south, and Elm Park and Mariners Harbor to the west.
New Brighton is a neighborhood located on the North Shore of Staten Island in New York City. The neighborhood comprises an older industrial and residential harbor front area along the Kill Van Kull west of St. George. New Brighton is bounded by Kill Van Kull on the north, Jersey Street on the east, Brighton and Castleton Avenues to the south, and Lafayette Avenue and Snug Harbor Cultural Center to the west. It is adjacent to St. George to the east, Tompkinsville to the south, and West New Brighton to the west.
West New Brighton is a neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City, situated in the central area of North Shore. The neighborhood is bordered by New Brighton to the east, Port Richmond to the west, the waters of the Kill Van Kull to the north, and the communities of Sunnyside and Castleton Corners to the south.
The term North Shore is frequently applied to a series of neighborhoods within the New York City borough of Staten Island.
South Beach is a neighborhood on the East Shore of Staten Island, New York City, situated directly south of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. South Beach is bounded by New York Bay on the southeast, Seaview Avenue on the southwest, Laconia Avenue on the northwest, Reid and McClean Avenues on the north, and Lily Pond Avenue on the northeast. It is adjacent to Midland Beach to the southwest, Dongan Hills and Old Town/Concord to the northwest, and Fort Wadsworth and Rosebank to the northeast.
Dongan Hills is a neighborhood located within the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is on the Island's East Shore. Dongan Hills is bounded by Laconia Avenue on the southeast, Jefferson Avenue on the southwest, Richmond Road on the northwest, and Old Town Road to the north. It is adjacent to New Dorp and Grant City to the southwest, Todt Hill to the northwest, Old Town/Concord to the northeast, and South Beach and Midland Beach to the southeast.
Rosebank is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island, one of New York City's five boroughs. It borders Clifton to the north, Arrochar to the south, and the Upper New York Bay to the east.
South Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is just north of John F. Kennedy International Airport, between Aqueduct Racetrack to the west and the Van Wyck Expressway to the east. Adjacent neighborhoods include Ozone Park to the west; Richmond Hill to the north; Jamaica, South Jamaica, and Springfield Gardens to the east; and Howard Beach and Old Howard Beach to the southwest.
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The Tottenville station is a Staten Island Railway rapid transit station in the neighborhood of Tottenville, Staten Island, New York City. Located near Main Street and Arthur Kill Road, it is the southern terminus on the main line and the southernmost railway station in both New York City and New York State.
Staten Island Community Board 3 is a local government unit of the city of New York, encompassing the Staten Island neighborhoods of Annadale, Arden Heights, Bay Terrace, Charleston, Eltingville, Great Kills, Greenridge, Huguenot, Pleasant Plains, Prince's Bay, Richmond Valley, Rossville, Tottenville and Woodrow.
↑ Stanford M. Forrester, "Great Kills", in The Encyclopedia of New York City: Second Edition, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson, Lisa Keller, Nancy Flood. Yale University Press, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
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