We Buy Homes & Hillside Land in Todt Hill, Staten Island

Housing Stock

What Todt Hill Is Built From

Todt Hill is unlike any other neighborhood in the city. Its ridge of serpentine rock rises to about 400 feet near Todt Hill Road and Merrick Avenue. The name may come from the Dutch or German word for death, a reference often tied to Moravian Cemetery, founded in 1740 at the hill’s southwestern foot, though another explanation points to the bare rocky hilltop the first settlers saw.

In the early 20th century, architect Ernest Flagg built his own estate, Stone Court, and a series of stone cottages on the hill, several of which are now New York City landmarks. Most of today’s houses came later, especially after the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964: large custom single-family homes on winding roads, many without sidewalks, set among woods that connect to the Greenbelt. Staten Island Academy moved its campus to Todt Hill in the 1960s. The hill is widely known as one of Staten Island’s most exclusive residential areas.

Typical Properties We See

• Large detached single-family homes on wooded, sloping lots
• Houses on private roads and shared driveways
• Older estate homes near Flagg Place and the Flagg landmarks
• Mid-century custom houses with pools and large grounds
• Smaller homes on the edges of Lighthouse Hill and Egbertville
• Vacant and wooded parcels with natural-area limits

Zoning

The Natural Area District and Lower-Density Rules

Todt Hill is zoned for low-density detached housing, and much of it also lies within the Special Natural Area District. That district protects steep slopes, rock outcroppings, mature trees, forests, wetlands, ponds and streams. In practice, new buildings, additions that increase lot coverage and changes to significant natural features on many lots require a City Planning Commission authorization, and the city’s own planners have noted that even modest additions on Todt Hill can require that review. A citywide proposal to overhaul these special districts was withdrawn in 2019, so the existing rules still apply.

On top of that, Staten Island’s Lower Density Growth Management Area rules apply: higher parking requirements, a 30-foot rear yard, more space between houses, stricter lot-width and area minimums, limits on steep driveways, and rules about buildings on private roads. City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, adopted in December 2024, did not make the hill a place for denser housing; its changes matter far less here than in other parts of the city. Whether a Todt Hill lot can be split or a house replaced is a site-specific question for an architect and zoning attorney.

Landmark status adds another layer for a handful of properties. Stone Court at 209 Flagg Place and several Flagg cottages are designated individual landmarks, and on Lighthouse Hill, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Crimson Beech house was designated in 1990. Work on those properties goes through the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Tenancies

Rentals and Occupancy on Todt Hill

Todt Hill is overwhelmingly owner-occupied single-family housing, and rent stabilization, which generally applies to buildings with six or more units built before 1974, essentially does not reach these houses. Rentals here are usually whole-house leases, a caretaker or relative living on the property, or an accessory apartment in a larger home.

Even so, anyone living in a house you sell has rights under New York law, and the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act affects notice and eviction timelines. We can buy with an occupant in place and take over the arrangement at closing, or set a closing date that gives a family member time to move. Egbertville, with more two-families, is where we see the most traditional landlord-tenant situations.

Where We Buy

Where We Buy on Todt Hill, Lighthouse Hill and in Egbertville

Todt Hill Road and the Summit

Todt Hill Road climbs the ridge past Staten Island Academy and the hill’s largest houses, with streets such as Ocean Terrace, Benedict Road and Merrick Avenue branching off. Much of the summit is Greenbelt parkland, and the houses around it sit on some of the island’s biggest residential lots. We buy large homes here privately, including houses that have not been updated in decades.

Flagg Place and the Eastern Slopes

Around Flagg Place, Ernest Flagg’s Stone Court and his landmarked stone cottages share the slope with mid-century and newer houses. On the eastern side of the ridge, many homes sold as “Todt Hill” sit technically in Dongan Hills, near a private country club. We buy throughout these slopes; our Dongan Hills page covers the blocks below.

Moravian Cemetery and the Richmond Road Edge

At the hill’s southwestern foot, Richmond Road runs past Moravian Cemetery, the island’s largest cemetery and the burial place of many Vanderbilts, toward New Dorp. Richmond Road carries the S74 and S84 buses and an express route to Manhattan, since the hill itself has no rail service. Houses along this edge are older and smaller than on the summit.

Lighthouse Hill

Lighthouse Hill is the next hill to the south, above Richmondtown, named for the 1912 Staten Island Range Light that still stands on it. Its winding streets include Lighthouse Avenue, home of the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and Edinboro Road. The Crimson Beech, the only Frank Lloyd Wright house in New York City, is here too, and LaTourette Golf Course and its 1836 farmhouse clubhouse sit at the hill’s southern edge along Richmond Hill Road. Houses are large and often perched on steep, wooded lots surrounded by Greenbelt parkland. We buy them as-is and handle the slope and natural-area questions.

Egbertville

Egbertville is a small, wooded neighborhood near the island’s center, generally between Rockland Avenue, Altamont Street, Richmond Road and the Greenbelt. It takes its name from the Egbert family, Dutch-descended farmers here in the 1700s and 1800s, and borders the Egbertville Ravine and trails toward High Rock Park and LaTourette Park. Homes are more modest than on Todt Hill, including older frame houses and some two-families on winding, tree-shaded roads. We buy houses and lots throughout Egbertville, including near Richmondtown.

Inherited Property

Selling an Inherited Todt Hill Home

Inherited houses on the hill come with particular challenges. They are often large, full of a lifetime of belongings, and expensive every month in taxes, insurance, heating, landscaping and security, whether or not anyone lives there. Heirs may live in Manhattan, New Jersey, Florida or abroad, and some prefer that neighbors not see a listing. We buy these homes quietly and as they stand.

Letters, Executors and Administrators

Staten Island estates are administered through the Richmond County Surrogate’s Court at 18 Richmond Terrace in St. George. An executor named in a will receives letters testamentary; when there is no will, the court issues letters of administration, usually to a close relative. The fiduciary with letters signs the contract and deed. We can sign a contract while the estate is still open and close once the court paperwork is in place. Letters sometimes carry restrictions or require court approval for a sale, and larger estates can raise tax questions, so work with your estate attorney and accountant.

• Siblings or other heirs disagree about the price, timing or keeping the house
• Heirs live out of state or overseas; we can arrange access and work through your attorney
• A vacant large house running up taxes, insurance, utilities and grounds care
• Roofs, systems, retaining walls or driveways that need costly work
• A caretaker or relative still living on the property
• A house full of furnishings, art and belongings to be dealt with

Our guide to selling inherited property on Staten Island covers each step.

Why Owners Sell

Why Todt Hill Owners Sell to Us

• They want a private sale with no sign, no listing and no open houses
• The house needs a renovation they do not want to manage
• Carrying costs on a large house no longer make sense
• An estate needs a clean, certain sale for all the heirs
• A lot has natural-area or slope issues that retail buyers do not want
• Downsizing or relocating on a fixed timeline
• Partners, co-owners or a divorce require a fair, documented sale

Potential

What a Builder Sees on Todt Hill

On Todt Hill, value is mostly about the land and the setting: views, privacy, mature trees and proximity to the Greenbelt. For a builder, the main options are renovating a dated house, replacing an obsolete one where the natural-area rules allow, or, rarely, dividing a very large lot. Steep slopes, rock, trees and CPC review make each of those slower and costlier than on flat land, and that is reflected in what any developer can pay. We explain how we weighed those factors in our offer.

Your Options

Your Options for Selling on Todt Hill

Listing With a Broker

A well-kept Todt Hill house often finds a buyer through a broker, and listing may bring the highest price. It also means public marketing, showings, a long negotiation with a financed buyer and a commission. If your house is updated and you are comfortable with that process, listing may be the better choice, and we will say so.

Renovating or Rebuilding Yourself

Some owners renovate or rebuild before selling. On the hill, that usually means architects, natural-area review, permits and a long construction schedule. It can pay off, but it ties up capital and time.

Selling Privately to Red Hook Development

We buy as-is, with no repairs, no staging and no commission. We respond within one business day, make a written offer, and you choose the closing date. Because we take on renovation and approval risk, our price may be below what a fully updated house would bring on the market. See how selling to us works and what we buy.

How It Works

How a Private Todt Hill Sale Works

• Contact us confidentially by phone, email or the form on this page
• We respond within one business day and schedule a discreet visit, or arrange access
• We review the lot, natural-area and landmark rules, title and condition
• We send a written offer
• Your attorney and ours handle the contract and closing
• You pick the closing date; we can take over any occupancy at closing

Market Context

Todt Hill in the Mid-Island Market

Todt Hill is the highest-end part of our Mid-Island coverage, surrounded by Dongan Hills, Willowbrook and Manor Heights, Richmondtown and New Dorp, with Grymes Hill and Emerson Hill farther along the ridge. Buyers for large homes are fewer than for typical houses, so timing and presentation matter more. We do not publish price claims; we make an offer on your property and explain it. See the Staten Island overview for every area we buy in.