Postcards from the Rails
Sudsy's Bagesls and Neighborhood Deli advertises it self as "At the base of the Pleasant Plains Train Station."
The umbrella tables and chairs attract an ever-changing cast of local characters in mild weather.
Even on a chilly Autumn Sunday, the place was hopping inside.
The Railway is embedded in neighborhood life all along its length. Young people often meet in the last car of a particular train and get off at an agreed-to station.
An ever-changing street social plays out at this local eatery. Two male teens launch a barrage of four letter words through a curtain of cigarette smoke. A man dressed in work pants and a wife-beater tee, covered with grease, returns to his parked car from an errand. Seeing the boys he loudly repeats, “Look at the mooks!” His audience, his pre-teen son sitting in the car, or the young man he used to be? Two female teens happen by. The “mooks” straighten up and switch into flirt mode. A male teen bikes by. The “mooks” revert to childish energy and run to catch up with him.
Council on the Arts and Humanities for State Island holds a meeting to support the arts throughout our Island.
Like almost every station, there is a dance studio.
In 1860, this station was named Pleasant Plains by officials of the Railroad. A local culture soon sprang up around it.