Pleasant Plains is a neighborhood located on Staten Island, New York City, New York. It is bordered by Woodrow to the north, the Lower New York Bay to the south, Richmond Valley to the west, and Prince's Bay to the east. The neighborhood is represented in the New York City Council by Joe Borelli. Situated on the island's South Shore, Pleasant Plains has a population of 5,000 according to the 2000 census. It was named by officials of the Staten Island Railroad Corporation, the original owners of what is now known as the MTA Staten Island Railway. When the railroad line was extended to Tottenville in 1860, a station crossing Amboy Road approximately two miles north of Tottenville was named Pleasant Plains. Eventually, the name "Pleasant Plains" was applied to the community which soon sprung up around the station. History In 1882, a farm southeast of the railroad station was purchased from the Bennett family by the Reverend John Christopher Drumgoole founder of the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin. He started the mission in Manhattan in 1871 originally to aid homeless newsboys. Subsequent parcels were added for a combined area of . The formal name became The Mission of The Immaculate Virgin at Mount Loretto but was and still is referred to solely as "Mt. Loretto". An orphanage for boys and a working farm was established on the site. At one time it was the largest farm in New York State. In 1888, Father Drumgooles successor began construction on St. Elizabeth's Building, a six-story Georgian Style building to be used as a girls' orphanage with a capacity of 350 children. It was destroyed by fire in March 2000 as a result of arson. The building had been abandoned and neglected for a number of years. A parcel of land south of Hylan Blvd. was sold to The State of New York. The park named, "The Mount Loretto Unique Area" is maintained by the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation. The state park adjoins Lemon Creek Park, which is partially in Pleasant Plains. The Pleasant Plains' portion includes a fishing pier at the foot of Sharrotts Ave. The park contains . high red clay bluffs overlooking Prince’s Bay, part Outer New York Harbor, they are part of the terminal moraine the southern terminus of the Wisconsin Glacier which receded 10,000 yrs. ago. They are the tallest ocean-facing bluffs in New