Emerson Hill is the name of a hilly area, and the neighborhood upon which the hill is situated, in Staten Island, New York, one of the five boroughs of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, USA.

A highly affluent community, the roads on Emerson Hill are technically private, and several gates are found at approaches to the enclave; since the gates are seldom closed and are not manned by security personnel, however, it does not officially qualify as a gated community

Gated community

In its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly-controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. Gated communities usually consist of small residential...

. Emerson Hill is separated from its northern neighbor Grymes Hill

Grymes Hill, Staten Island

Grymes Hill is a neighborhood, situated upon a hill by that name, on Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. The east side of the hill is defined by Van Duzer Street and Richmond Road to the intersection with the Staten Island Expressway, which, with Clove Road, defines the...

 by the Staten Island Expressway. The equally exclusive neighborhood of Todt Hill

Todt Hill

Todt Hill [elevation 410 ft ] is a hill formed of serpentine rock on Staten Island, New York. It is the highest natural point in the five boroughs of New York City and the highest elevation on the entire Atlantic Coastal Plain from Florida to Cape Cod., The summit of the ridge is largely covered...

 — where private roads also exist — borders Emerson Hill on the south.

The hill is named for Judge William Emerson--oldest brother of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...

--who lived with his wife, Susan, and children William, Haven and Charles in a long brown shingle house known as The Snuggery. Willie and Haven were tutored in 1843 by Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...

, who lived with the Emersons from May through October. It was the only time in his adult life that Thoreau lived anywhere but Concord, Massachusetts.

In 1971, two large mock Tudor homes at the end of Longfellow Avenue served as Casa Corleone for the filming of Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...

's classic movie The Godfather

The Godfather

The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...

.