One of several municipalities in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, Pleasantville is located 30 miles north of Manhattan. It is only 1.9 square miles, which means that, unlike in some suburbs, its residents can walk to the schools, restaurants and many other attractions it has to offer.
Because of its size, the village, with a population of about 7,100, is not required to provide school busing, so many parents walk their children to school, often along the mile-long stretch of Bedford Road that is lined with quaint historic homes.
Pleasantville residents also walk to the train (50 min to Grand Central) and the year-round Saturday farmer’s market. They walk to the Village Bookstore and the Jacob Burns Film Center, which screens more than 400 films yearly and hosts a roster of guest speakers.
Pleasantville offers a wide array of dining, ranging from breakfast and lunch venues such as Playa Bowls (smoothies and acai bowls) and Jean Jacques (French pastry shop) to vibrant dinner locales such as Wood and Fire, Vela Kitchen, Pub Street and Southern Table.
Theatrical performances at Arc Stages include youth, community and professional productions. The annual Pleasantville Music Festival draws thousands to Parkway Field to hear Guster, the Smithereens and more. Other summer options include the village pool (families, $450; individuals, $225; seniors, $100) and free concerts by the Pleasantville Fire Department Band.
Cooking classes are offered at the United States headquarters of Zwilling J.A. Henckels, the German cutlery manufacturer. The village is also home to the Westchester Table Tennis Center and is minutes from Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills and Rockefeller State Park Preserve in Mount Pleasant.
More than 70 percent of Pleasantville’s homes are single-family houses, fewer than 10 percent are multifamily houses and slightly more than 19 percent are condominiums and co-op apartments.
