Sell Your Property in Westerleigh
We Buy Houses & Two-Families in Westerleigh, Staten Island
From the 1890s Victorians around Westerleigh Park to the detached houses on Watchogue Road and the two-families near Jewett Avenue, we buy Westerleigh property directly, as-is, with a written offer.
- Direct buyer, written offer
- As-is: no repairs or cleanouts
- Tenants and estates welcome
- You choose the closing date
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Quick Answers
Who Buys Property in Westerleigh?
Who buys property in Westerleigh, Staten Island?
Red Hook Development buys property throughout Westerleigh, the North Shore neighborhood between Forest Avenue and Victory Boulevard, from Jewett Avenue west to Stewart Avenue. We buy Victorian and early-20th-century houses, detached single-families, two-families, semi-detached homes and lots. We are a direct buyer: you get a written offer, we buy as-is, the sale stays off the open market and we respond within one business day. We buy whole properties, not co-op or condo units.
What was Prohibition Park?
Westerleigh began as National Prohibition Park, a temperance resort and planned community opened on July 4, 1888, on land bought the year before from the Vanderbilt family. It drew large crowds for temperance rallies and lectures. From 1892, more than 1,000 house lots were sold with deeds banning the sale or manufacture of liquor. As the park faded, the community was renamed Westerleigh, and the city took over the remaining green space in 1907.
Do you buy inherited homes in Westerleigh?
Yes. Westerleigh has long been an owner-occupied neighborhood, and many houses have stayed in one family for decades. When they pass to heirs, we can make a written offer while the estate is still before the Richmond County Surrogate’s Court, arrange access for heirs who live out of state and buy the house with its contents. Our Staten Island inherited property guide explains the steps.
Do you buy old Victorian houses that need work?
Yes. Many of Westerleigh’s 1890s and early-1900s houses still have original porches, slate or old asphalt roofs, knob-and-tube wiring or aging boilers. We buy them as-is and price the repairs into a written offer, so you do not need to renovate, update systems or clear the house before selling.
Can I sell a Westerleigh two-family with tenants?
Yes. Most Westerleigh homes are owner-occupied, but many two-families and converted houses have a tenant in one unit. We buy with tenants in place, review the lease and rent history, and take over the tenancy at closing. Nobody has to move out first.
What We Buy in Westerleigh
Westerleigh Properties We’re Actively Buying
Prohibition Park Victorians
Frame Victorians and turn-of-the-century houses on Neal Dow Avenue, Fiske Avenue, Maine Avenue, Willard Avenue and The Boulevard. We buy them with original details intact, and with the deferred maintenance that often comes with them.
Detached Single-Families
Detached houses from many decades on the blocks off Watchogue Road, Jewett Avenue and Victory Boulevard. We buy dated homes, homes with additions never signed off and houses that need a full update.
Two-Family Houses
Two-families and houses converted to two units, owner-occupied or fully rented. We buy them with tenants in place, including houses where the legal number of units is unclear.
Semi-Detached Homes
Post-1964 semi-detached and attached houses on the western and northern blocks toward Forest Avenue and Stewart Avenue, often with a garage below and a rental unit.
Oversized & Double Lots
Some Prohibition Park-era houses sit on wide or combined lots. We look at zoning and the island’s lower-density rules to see whether a lot can be split, and we buy the house and land together.
Victory Boulevard & Forest Avenue Property
Mixed-use buildings, professional offices and houses on the busier edges of the neighborhood along Victory Boulevard and Forest Avenue. We buy with commercial or residential leases in place.
Housing Stock
What Westerleigh Is Built From
Westerleigh is one of the few planned communities on Staten Island, and its street plan still shows it. National Prohibition Park opened in 1888 on former Vanderbilt land, organized for the Prohibition Party by businessman Christopher S. Williams and Methodist pastor William H. Boole. The streets were named for prohibition figures and for states that had passed anti-liquor laws: Neal Dow Avenue for the Maine temperance leader, Fiske Avenue for presidential candidate Clinton B. Fisk, and Maine Avenue, among others.
The park once had a 4,000-seat auditorium called the University Temple, a hotel, a campground and the Westerleigh Collegiate Institute; the temple and the school were both lost to fire in 1903. Lots were sold from 1892 with deeds that banned liquor, and buyers built Victorian, Dutch and English-style houses. Some of the oldest survivors are on The Boulevard, the park’s main street, where several houses date to 1893. Waters Avenue still has brick paving.
Later decades filled in the remaining land with detached houses, two-families and, after the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964, semi-detached and attached homes. Westerleigh also has one of the island’s oldest houses: the Peter Housman House at 308 St. John Avenue, whose stone section dates to around 1730, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Typical Property Types
- 1890s and early-1900s frame Victorians around Westerleigh Park
- Detached single-families from the 1920s through the 1960s
- Two-families and converted houses near Jewett Avenue and Watchogue Road
- Semi-detached and attached homes on the western and northern blocks
- Mixed-use and office property on Victory Boulevard and Forest Avenue
Zoning
Zoning Context in Westerleigh
Westerleigh is mapped for lower-density residential use, with commercial zoning along parts of Victory Boulevard and Forest Avenue. All of Staten Island is a Lower Density Growth Management Area, so lower-density districts here follow stricter rules than similar districts in other boroughs on parking, yards and minimum lot sizes. For the wide lots of the Prohibition Park blocks, those rules often decide whether a lot can be subdivided or a second house built.
Westerleigh is not, as far as we know, a designated city historic district, so most exterior work needs only Department of Buildings permits, not Landmarks approval; individually landmarked buildings are the exception. City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, adopted in December 2024, applies here more narrowly than in the inner boroughs because Staten Island is outside the Greater Transit Zone, so most parking requirements remain and backyard ADUs are limited. Confirm any zoning or landmark question for your address with a zoning attorney or professional.
Regulated Buildings
Tenants & Rent Rules in Westerleigh
Westerleigh is a neighborhood of houses, and only about a quarter of homes in the census area that includes Westerleigh and Castleton Corners are renter-occupied. Rent stabilization in New York City generally applies to buildings with six or more units built before 1974, plus some newer buildings that took tax benefits, so it rarely affects a Westerleigh house. Tenants in two-families still have rights under state law, including the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act.
We buy with tenants in place and take over the tenancies at closing. If a tenant is not paying, see our guide to selling with tenants who are not paying. For larger regulated buildings, see our rent-stabilized building page. Talk to a landlord-tenant attorney about your situation.
Where We Buy
Where We Buy in Westerleigh
We buy on every block of Westerleigh, from Forest Avenue to Victory Boulevard and from Jewett Avenue to Stewart Avenue. These are the areas we hear about most:
- The Prohibition Park core — Neal Dow Avenue, Fiske Avenue, Maine Avenue, Willard Avenue, Springfield Avenue and The Boulevard around Westerleigh Park
- Jewett Avenue edge — houses and two-families along Jewett Avenue, where the 1892 trolley once ran, near Immanuel Union Church
- Watchogue Road — detached houses and two-families along one of the area’s older roads
- Victory Boulevard — the southern edge, with houses, offices and mixed-use buildings near the Todt Hill-Westerleigh Library
- Northern blocks — later houses and attached homes toward Forest Avenue and Port Richmond
- Western blocks — homes toward Stewart Avenue, Northerleigh Park and Graniteville
Westerleigh Park, the green between Maine and Springfield Avenues and Neal Dow and Willard Avenues, is what remains of the original park’s open space, where band concerts were once held. Ingram Woods, a preserved patch of older forest, sits on the neighborhood’s southern side.
Inherited Property
Selling an Inherited House in Westerleigh
Because Westerleigh is so owner-occupied, inherited houses make up a large share of what changes hands. Often it is a Victorian that one family has owned for generations, or a detached house bought new in the 1950s or 1960s. Staten Island estates are handled by the Richmond County Surrogate’s Court at 18 Richmond Terrace in St. George, across from the ferry terminal.
Executors and Administrators
With a will, the named executor generally applies for letters testamentary. Without a will, a relative applies for letters of administration and becomes the administrator. Once the court grants authority, that person can sign the contract and deed. We can see the house and give a written offer earlier, so the family knows the number while the court process runs, and then close when your estate attorney says the estate is ready.
Estate Situations We Handle
- Siblings who disagree about keeping, renting or selling a family house
- Heirs out of state; we can arrange access and handle the walkthrough
- Vacant Victorians with taxes, insurance, heat and upkeep running every month
- Old houses that need work, from roofs and porches to wiring; we buy with the contents
- A two-family with a tenant; we take over the tenancy at closing
Our guide to selling inherited property in Staten Island goes deeper. This is general information, not legal advice.
Why Owners Sell
Why Westerleigh Owners Sell to Us
- Estates and inherited houses, often with heirs living elsewhere
- Old houses with big repair lists, such as roofs, porches, boilers and wiring
- Unpermitted additions or units that do not match the certificate of occupancy
- Downsizing owners who do not want months of showings
- Tired landlords with a two-family and a long-term tenant
- Co-owners splitting up; see our partnership dispute guide
- Tax or water liens; see selling with tax and water liens
Potential
Where the Value Is in Westerleigh
Westerleigh’s appeal is its quiet, park-centered street plan, its older houses and its location: Victory Boulevard and Forest Avenue lead to St. George and the bridges, and the Staten Island Expressway is a short drive south. Restored Victorians and well-kept detached homes hold strong owner demand.
Value beyond the house usually comes from the land. Wide or double lots can sometimes be split or built on within the island’s lower-density rules, and corner lots on Victory Boulevard or Forest Avenue may have commercial potential. We review both the house and the lot before we write an offer.
Your Options
Your Options for Selling Westerleigh Property
List With a Broker
A restored Victorian or updated house can do well on the open market, and listing may net you more. It also means repairs, staging, showings, a buyer’s mortgage and appraisal, and usually months before closing. Old systems, unpermitted work, tenants or an open estate narrow the pool.
Restore It Yourself
Restoring an old house can add value, but it takes money, contractors who know old frame construction, permits and patience.
Sell Directly to Red Hook Development
We buy as-is, with tenants, contents and estate paperwork in progress. You get a written offer, pay no commission and choose the closing date, and you are welcome to compare our offer with a listing first. See what we buy or submit your property.
How It Works
How Selling to Us Works
- Tell us about the property by form, phone or email
- We respond within one business day and review zoning, deed, tax and violation records
- One walkthrough, scheduled around you and any tenants; we can arrange access for out-of-state owners
- Written offer, with no obligation
- Attorney-run contract, with your attorney representing you
- You choose the closing date, and we take over any tenancies at closing
Market Context
The Westerleigh Market
Westerleigh draws buyers who want a detached house or a Victorian on a quiet North Shore block. Updated, vacant houses get the most attention. Older houses with long repair lists, homes with unpermitted work, occupied two-families and estates still in probate tend to sit longer with financed buyers.
Those are the properties we focus on. We also buy in Castleton Corners, Graniteville, Port Richmond, Bulls Head and across the North Shore.
FAQ
Westerleigh Seller Questions
Are Westerleigh’s liquor deed restrictions still enforced?
The Prohibition Park deeds from the 1890s banned making or selling liquor, and the language can still appear in old title records. Restrictions like these are generally treated as obsolete today, but your title company and attorney should review any deed covenant. It does not stop us from buying.
Is Westerleigh a historic district?
Westerleigh is not a designated city historic district as far as we know, though a few individual buildings carry landmark or National Register status, such as the Peter Housman House on St. John Avenue. Confirm the status of your own address with the Landmarks Preservation Commission. We buy landmarked and non-landmarked houses.
Which buses serve Westerleigh?
Local buses run on Victory Boulevard, Jewett Avenue, Watchogue Road and Forest Avenue, and express buses to Manhattan run on Watchogue Road and Forest Avenue. The St. George ferry terminal is a bus ride north.
Do you buy houses with knob-and-tube wiring or oil heat?
Yes. Old wiring, oil tanks, aging boilers and original plumbing are common in Westerleigh’s older houses. We buy as-is and account for those systems in our written offer, so you do not need to replace them first.
Can you buy a house with an unpermitted addition?
Yes. Enclosed porches, finished attics and rear additions that were never signed off are common. We buy as-is and price the house on its legal status, so you do not need to legalize the work first.
What if I am selling a Westerleigh house from out of state?
Yes, we buy from out-of-state owners. We can arrange access to the house, handle the walkthrough, send the written offer by email and work with your attorney in New York, so you may not need to travel until closing, if at all.
Other Neighborhoods
We Also Buy Nearby
We also buy houses and two-families in the neighborhoods around Westerleigh.
Own Property in Westerleigh?
Find out what a developer will pay — privately, with no obligation. Call 718-500-3423 or email bklyn@redhookdevelopment.com.