Sunshine Laundromat in Greenpoint Hosts Pinball Marathon During Actual NYC Marathon

First off, Sunshine Laundromat in Greenpoint is one of our favorites in the city and we previously included it in a roundup of unique laundromats in NYC. In March of this year, it had 5 pinball machines and that number has only increased in the last eight months. During this Sunday’s NYC Marathon, Sunshine Laundromat hosted its own marathon of sorts–a pinball marathon–while the actual marathon whizzed by the storefront. Aaron Reiss and Jamie Hefetz of Citizen Productions captured this event on video. One of our favorite quotes from a pinball enthusiast which captures the environment at Sunshine: “It’s progressed from from a laundromat where you could play pinball to now more like a pinball arcade where you can incidentally do laundry.”

Sunshine Laundromat in March 2013, before the addition of several more machines, including one on top of the washers

Of the experience in the laundromat itself, Reiss tells Untapped:

The inside of laundromat looks like a John Water’s film.  The owner’s kooky sense of humor and pinball passion (bordering on obsession) imbues the place with a kind of cult character that draws in and shelters pinball die-hards from places as far as Long Island. A true New York haven, Sunshine Laundromat is helping keep the NYC pinball underground alive.

For Manhattanites, there’s also a pinball arcade called Modern Pinball coming to Kips Bay where you can use your winning to buy your own machine!

Get in touch with the author @untappedmich.