SUNSET HILL
Geographic Setting
Sunset Hill occupies one of the most picturesque ridges on Staten Island’s North Shore, bounded by Clove Road to the southwest, Forest Avenue to the north, and the Silver Lake Golf Course and Park to the southeast. Nestled between West Brighton to the west and Grymes Hill to the east, the neighborhood sits on elevated terrain overlooking the Silver Lake basin, offering sweeping views of the harbor, the Manhattan skyline, and the western hills of the island.
Its setting is defined by rolling streets lined with stately homes, mature trees, and stone retaining walls that trace the contours of the hill. The proximity of Silver Lake Park, Clove Lakes Park, and St. Peter’s Cemetery gives the area a park-like tranquility rarely found in New York City. While only minutes from the urban bustle of Forest Avenue’s commercial corridor, Sunset Hill remains an enclave of quiet dignity—a neighborhood where landscape, architecture, and history intertwine in enduring harmony.
Etymology
The name Sunset Hill reflects both geography and atmosphere. The neighborhood’s elevated position captures some of the most radiant sunsets on Staten Island, as the light fades across the Kill Van Kull and glows over Newark Bay. The term began appearing on property maps and local real estate advertisements in the late 19th century, evoking the scenic romanticism that lured well-to-do families to the island’s northern highlands.
As with many Staten Island neighborhood names, Sunset Hill likely originated as a descriptive marketing term for an emerging residential district—combining natural beauty with suburban refinement. The name has endured for over a century, a fitting tribute to the daily spectacle that still defines its western horizon.
The Neighborhood
Origins through the 19th Century: From Farmland to Country Retreat
Before its suburban development, Sunset Hill formed part of the rural township of Castleton, a landscape of rolling farmland, woodlots, and scattered homesteads. The land’s fertile slopes supported small-scale agriculture, while its elevation and proximity to the harbor made it a prized location for estates and summer homes. By the early 1800s, the area was dotted with farmhouses connected by Clove Road, one of Staten Island’s oldest routes, linking Richmondtown to the waterfront.
In the mid-19th century, as Staten Island became a haven for wealthy Manhattanites seeking clean air and country living, the hills overlooking Silver Lake began to attract prominent families. Large Victorian homes, Italianate villas, and later Colonial Revivals were built on generous lots, many designed to maximize the panoramic views of New York Harbor and the distant city skyline.
The opening of the Staten Island Ferry (1817) and subsequent improvement of inland roads made the North Shore accessible to commuters, transforming it into a semi-rural suburb. Sunset Hill’s elevated terrain and scenic character earned it a reputation as one of Staten Island’s most desirable addresses—a quiet refuge for merchants, professionals, and civic leaders whose daily lives were centered across the water in Manhattan.
By the late 19th century, the area’s transformation was well underway. The establishment of Silver Lake Park (originally a reservoir and ice pond) to the southeast enhanced the area’s appeal, as did the creation of Clove Lakes Park to the southwest. Together, these green spaces framed Sunset Hill within an arc of natural beauty that has endured ever since.
Early 20th Century: Suburban Elegance and Civic Pride
In the early 20th century, Sunset Hill matured into a refined suburban neighborhood characterized by architectural distinction and civic engagement. Its gently curving streets—such as Hart Boulevard, Davis Avenue, and Crescent Avenue—became home to a growing population of Staten Island professionals, educators, and entrepreneurs. The houses reflected a range of early 20th-century styles—Craftsman, Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, and Arts and Crafts—each carefully integrated into the hillside landscape.
The neighborhood’s proximity to Silver Lake Park and Clove Lakes Park offered residents the pastoral amenities of Olmsted-inspired park design—walking trails, lakes, and wooded valleys—while remaining within a short distance of downtown St. George and the ferry to Manhattan. This combination of natural scenery and civic infrastructure made Sunset Hill a model of suburban planning in an age when Staten Island was known as New York’s “borough of homes.”
Social life centered on local institutions such as St. Peter’s Church and St. Peter’s Cemetery, one of the island’s oldest and most historic burial grounds. Many families in Sunset Hill had intergenerational ties to Staten Island’s early Catholic and Protestant communities, and the neighborhood developed a reputation for stability and grace. During this period, Forest Avenue to the north emerged as a bustling commercial corridor, providing shops, bakeries, and theaters that served Sunset Hill and its neighboring districts.
Mid–Late 20th Century: Preservation and Adaptation
The mid-20th century brought both modernization and preservation to Sunset Hill. The construction of the Staten Island Expressway (1964) and population growth following the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge brought new pressures to the borough, but Sunset Hill’s hilly terrain and established zoning helped it retain its residential character. While much of Staten Island experienced large-scale subdivision and tract housing, Sunset Hill remained largely intact, its historic housing stock protected by both geography and community advocacy.
The neighborhood’s mature tree canopy, stone retaining walls, and sloping streets continued to define its charm. Homeowners maintained and restored older properties rather than replacing them, fostering a culture of architectural preservation rare in outer-borough neighborhoods. Civic associations and block groups advocated for traffic calming and park maintenance, ensuring that the area’s quiet streets and green buffers endured amid broader urban change.
In the postwar decades, Sunset Hill became home to an increasingly diverse population of professionals, artists, and educators, many drawn to its proximity to Staten Island’s cultural and natural landmarks. Silver Lake Golf Course, bordering the neighborhood to the southeast, became both a recreational anchor and an aesthetic one—a rolling expanse of green that preserved open views and reinforced the park-like setting that has defined Sunset Hill since its inception.
21st Century: A Historic Neighborhood in a Modern Borough
Today, Sunset Hill stands as one of Staten Island’s most established and picturesque neighborhoods. Its housing stock—well-preserved early 20th-century homes interspersed with restored Victorians—offers a living record of the borough’s suburban evolution. Many residences command striking views of Silver Lake, Clove Lakes Park, and the Manhattan skyline, lending the area an enduring sense of place that continues to attract homeowners seeking both history and serenity.
The neighborhood benefits from its adjacency to the Staten Island Greenbelt, a network of parks and trails that includes Silver Lake and Clove Lakes, creating an almost continuous stretch of greenery through the island’s heart. Residents enjoy access to jogging paths, tennis courts, and the Silver Lake Golf Course—all within walking distance—while Forest Avenue’s shops and restaurants provide a lively counterpoint to the area’s residential calm.
Community life remains defined by civic pride and a shared appreciation for the landscape. Preservation efforts have focused on maintaining the historic streetscape, protecting mature trees, and ensuring that new construction respects the scale and character of existing homes. The Sunset Hill Neighborhood Association and local park conservancies collaborate on beautification and conservation projects, reinforcing the area’s status as both heritage district and living neighborhood.
While Staten Island has modernized around it, Sunset Hill continues to embody the island’s unique balance between urban accessibility and suburban tranquility—a small hilltop village within the metropolis.
Spirit and Legacy
The spirit of Sunset Hill resides in its constancy—its ability to preserve grace amid change. It is a neighborhood defined not by spectacle but by setting: the sweep of its sunsets, the curve of its roads, the quiet dignity of its homes. Its residents share a collective stewardship of beauty, maintaining a balance between the built and the natural that has made the community endure for over a century.
The legacy of Sunset Hill is one of continuity. From its 19th-century estates to its early 20th-century suburbs, it reflects the evolution of Staten Island itself—rural origins refined into civic ideal. Its hillsides have watched ships pass through the harbor, rail lines rise and fall, and generations come and go, yet the view from its heights remains timeless.
New York City
Use this custom Google map to explore where every neighborhood in all five boroughs of New York City is located.
The Five Boroughs
One of New York City’s unique qualities is its organization in to 5 boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. These boroughs are part pragmatic administrative districts, and part vestiges of the region’s past. Each borough is an entire county in New York State - in fact, Brooklyn is, officially, Kings County, while Staten Island is, officially Richmond County. But that’s not the whole story …
Initially, New York City was located on the southern tip of Manhattan (now the Financial District) that was once the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. Across the East River, another city was rising: Brooklyn. In time, the city planners realized that unification between the rapidly rising cities would create commercial and industrial opportunities - through streamlined administration of the region.
So powerful was the pull of unification between New York and Brooklyn that three more counties were pulled into the unification: The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. And on January 1, 1898, the City of New York unified two cities and three counties into one Greater City of New York - containing the five boroughs we know today.
But because each borough developed differently and distinctly until unification, their neighborhoods likewise uniquely developed. Today, there are nearly 390 neighborhoods, each with their own histories, cultures, cuisines, and personalities - and each with residents who are fiercely proud of their corner of The Big Apple.
