LIBN: How the Langdon is reshaping Lynbrook while honoring its past

by Polly Talbott

In Brief:

• The Langdon brings luxury, transit-oriented living to a historic Lynbrook property.
• Site previously housed a theater, knitting mill, feather factory and more.
• Village officials backed redevelopment to boost downtown growth.
• Historian emphasizes preserving heritage while embracing modern needs.

In our suburban region that is too often indifferent to what came before us, Lynbrook Village historian Art Mattson is the keeper of the flame, a mission that can serve as a model that Illuminates the heritage of communities across Long Island while welcoming the future.

Within his focus is a commercial parcel in his home village that once housed a feather factory, a knitting mill, a vaudeville theater and an opera house. In our 21st century, the property is now home to The Langdon, a $100 million luxury rental apartment complex built by Breslin Realty Development and Fields Grade Development that is setting new standards for amenities. The developer has leveraged its unique location next to the community’s LIRR station to become a transit-oriented residential complex that allows tenants to be in Manhattan within 35 minutes and is just 10 minutes from the Long Beach surf.

Mattson notes that the latest invention of the property is reinvigorating Lynbrook’s commercial center and reflects the simple fact that while land is eternal, structures need to give way to new and relevant uses. Housing is certainly a priority on 21st century Long Island, so the Langdon’s luxury address has arrived at the right time.

However, the historian suggests that welcoming the Langdon’s role as a transformative force doesn’t mean the past should be dismissed or marginalized. Rather, it should be celebrated.

He reports that prior to its demolition and the creation of luxury apartments, the previous brick structure stood for generations. It was built at the start of the 20th century as a theater and opera house, becoming a center of secular social life for the village. However, when the movie industry introduced “talkies” in the late 1920s, it simply couldn’t compete as a theatrical venue. After shutting off the footlights, it was briefly turned into a storage warehouse and then a stable.

At some point, it was determined the best and most productive use for this multi-story industrial building was to become a knitting mill. That reinvention generated significant job opportunities and economic activity for the village, but it would not last. Change was afoot once more. The building would transform into a feather factory for costumes and the fashion demands of the early 1940s. In essence, it allowed Lynbrook to become part of the fashion industry, even if only for a short period of time.

Not surprisingly, time moved on, and feather fashion became passé. The building stood vacant, becoming an aging, sad landmark with little future. Its turn of the 20th century design prevented it from being repurposed for office or residential. Mattson notes, “It lost its ability to offer ‘best use’.”

Lynbrook Village Mayor Alan Beach recognized that the empty “feather factory” looming over his downtown had the potential to delay economic growth and neighborhood investment, falsely defining his community. While he and his village board have long honored the community’s heritage they also recognized the need to manage change and voted to approve a strategic reinvention on the property.

The building’s subsequent demolition allowed Breslin Development to build The Langdon at a location that harnesses the adjacent railroad and, ironically, connects with the past.

But Mattson reminds transit-oriented development on the site isn’t new. “There was a trolley line that stopped near the property when the location was an entertainment venue. The past is still teaching us today.”

As communities across Long Island have learned over the decades, change comes with the implacable advance of time. As Lynbrook Village officials demonstrated, how that change is managed provides the ability to protect and strengthen a community’s future. In an era when the role of even the brick and steel of long-standing structures is being challenged by AI and the Internet, the past provides us with insight on how to build the future of Long Island’s communities.