The main commercial area of Eltingville extends down Richmond Avenue, with offshoots heading north on Amboy Road and Hylan Boulevard.

The community's main business district sprang up around the railroad station, which is located a short distance north of the intersection of Amboy Road and Richmond Avenue.

[2] In the early 20th century, Eltingville was settled primarily by Scandinavians, mostly Norwegians, to the point that unrelated families in the neighborhood often shared identical surnames, including Hansen, Johnson, Erickson, Ronning, Nygren, Bundesen and Swanson.

A granddaughter of one of these Eltingville families is model Patti Hansen, wife of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.

After the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964, Eltingville was the scene of massive new home construction as part of the suburbanization of New York City.

Eltingville today has a large Italian-American population, like most of the south shore of Staten Island, with many Italian-owned businesses, including Giovanni's Ristorante, John Vincent Scalia Funeral Home, Portobello Cafe, Freddie's Pork Store and Salumeria, Sure Electrical Contracting, Carlo's Fish Market, DeRosa & Sons, Pastosa Ravioli, and a large number of pizzerias.