Holliswood

The neighborhood.

Holliswood is a small, affluent, heavily residential pocket of eastern Queens — all winding, hilly, tree-lined streets (old-growth sycamores and maples), generously sized lots, and essentially no commercial strip of its own. Founded by developer Frederick W. Dunton in the 19th century and largely built out in the 1920s, it still reads like a Long Island village that happens to be in the five boroughs. The Holliswood Civic Association is a genuinely powerful force: in 2002 it got the city to downzone the neighborhood from 40x100 to 60x100 (R-1-2) lot minimums — the first civic association in NYC to pull that off — keeping the mansion-like, perched-on-hills feel intact.

Who lives here: established families and longtime residents drawn by District 26 schools, big yards, and quiet — median age skews older (49, per Homes.com) and 33% of households have children. Sub-pockets blur with Hollis Hills just to the north (the 'Holliswood' civic association area is often marketed as one unit), including the notable Dunton Street corridor, once home to Governor Mario Cuomo. Cunningham Park's 358 acres sit right across the Grand Central Parkway on the northern border, giving residents one of Queens' best trail, tennis, and biking playgrounds as their de facto backyard.

Housing stock & prices.

Holliswood is zoned single-family residential: prewar Colonial Revivals (including notable Dunton Street stock), postwar split-levels and ranches, plus a wave of modern mansions and new construction on oversized 60x100+ lots. Homes.com counts ~390 homes total, median year built 1950, median lot size 7,187 sq ft — some of the largest lots in NYC. Co-ops along Francis Lewis Blvd and Foothill Ave (Hilltop Village etc.) provide the entry-level stock.

Median single-family sale price: $1,400,000 (Homes.com, 2026 vintage). The NYC Dept. of Finance 2025 rolling-sales PDF — which separates 'HOLLISWOOD' from 'HOLLIS HILLS' — shows 34 one-family sales with median $1,440,000 (range $750K–$3.85M) and 4 two-family sales with median $895,000, vs. Hollis Hills one-family median $1,200,000. Homes.com's blended all-property median of ~$250,000 is skewed by co-ops (median 2-bedroom co-op $257,500; 1-bedroom $190,000) and should NOT be read as the house price. Average price per sq ft ~$415–$418, ~45 sales in the last 12 months, ~118 days on market, ~10 months of supply — firmly a buyer's market.

Getting around.

No subway station in the neighborhood itself — this is the honest trade-off. The workhorse is the QM68 express bus along Hillside Avenue (Floral Park to East Midtown at E 57th/3rd Ave, per MTA). Realistic door-to-door Midtown time: 60–75 minutes on a good day. The nearest subway (F) and nearest LIRR stations are ~1.1–1.5 miles away (Hollis LIRR on the Hempstead branch is the closest rail), and JFK is a ~14-minute drive. This is a car-ownership neighborhood: most households have cars, and the LIE and Grand Central Parkway make driving practical.

Walkability.

WalkScore rates the Holliswood neighborhood 69/100, with addresses near the Hillside Ave commercial strip hitting 78 ('Very Walkable'). But the number flatters: the pocket is hilly, winding, and essentially commercial-free outside the Hillside Ave / Francis Lewis Blvd edges, so daily life — groceries, dining, school drop-off — still assumes a car. Transit Score is strong thanks to the many Hillside Ave bus lines.

Schools.

The neighborhood is served primarily by NYC Geographic District 26 (eastern portions fall in District 29) — and District 26 is one of the most sought-after in Queens. The flagship is P.S./I.S. 178 The Holliswood School (Pre-K–8): GreatSchools 5/10, Niche grade B, with 37% math / 51% reading proficiency. Nearby heavy-hitters: The Bellaire School (P.S. 135, top quartile of NYC schools per NYC DOE) and JHS 74 Nathaniel Hawthorne (Niche A rating), plus JHS 216 George J. Ryan (GreatSchools 10/10). Zoned high school options include Martin Van Buren HS in District 26.

Local favorites.

• Cunningham Park. 358-acre park right across the Grand Central Parkway — tennis center, ball fields, mountain-bike trails, NYRR weekly 2.7-mile open run; Holliswood's de facto backyard.
• Alley Pond Environmental Center. 600+ acres of forest, wetlands, and trails a short drive east; nature center, adventure course, and birding spots along the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway.
• Gaby's Pizza. Neighborhood staple on Hillside Ave since 1964 — classic NY slices and the Gaby's Special, the area's de facto pizza benchmark.
• Hillside Ave commercial strip. The pocket's only real commercial spine: Foodtown supermarket, Queens Public Library's Holliswood branch, and an eclectic row of Caribbean, Latin, and Japanese eateries.
• Elena's Restaurant 43. Dominican/Spanish-American family eatery on Francis Lewis Blvd in neighboring Queens Village, serving the area for 30+ years — mofongo, roast chicken, tropical shakes.

Best for.