Newsday: Prolific Long Island real estate developer Wilbur Breslin dies at 99

by Celia Young

Wilbur Breslin, a prolific Long Island real estate developer and the CEO of Breslin Realty Development Corp., died at the age of 99 Wednesday at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island in Mineola.

Breslin’s many residential and retail projects, including the 201-unit apartment complex The Langdon in Lynbrook, Smith Haven Plaza in Lake Grove and the Sayville Plaza shopping center, helped shape neighborhoods across Long Island.

“He was a tireless worker,” said Kenneth Breslin, Wilbur Breslin’s son and president of Breslin Realty Development. “He never wavered. He was a man that could turn the pages of life as quickly as anybody.”

Wilbur Breslin was born on Nov. 10, 1926, in the Bronx to Pauline and Harry Breslin, who ran 12 fruit markets based in Hempstead. Working for his father helped inspire Wilbur Breslin to go into real estate, starting as a residential broker, Kenneth Breslin said.

Wilbur Breslin opened his first real estate office in 1953, launching a career of attracting national retailers to his Long Island shopping centers. His centers included stores like Modell’s, 7-Eleven, Marshalls, Kmart, Sears, Walmart and The Gap.

“Wilbur Breslin was a titan of Long Island development,” said Kyle Strober, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, of which Breslin was a founding member. “From the coffee shop to the supermarket, and from the sports store to the local deli, Wilbur Breslin provided these tenants with a home to serve countless communities.”

Kenneth Breslin said his father’s work ethic was legendary. Breslin Realty Development still owns Franklin Plaza in Garden City, Breslin’s first shopping plaza development. And just last month he proposed a 300-unit apartment and retail development in Middle Island, Newsday reported.

“We have lost a legend in the real estate business,” said Steven Krieger, the CEO of Jericho-based development firm B2K Development.

Breslin also helped pave the way for the environmental conservation law 1993 Long Island Pine Barrens Act, Kenneth Breslin said. He made significant philanthropic donations, including establishing the Wilbur and Dorothy Breslin Hall at Hofstra University and a cardiology innovation research fund at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center, according to an announcement from Catholic Health.

Wilbur Breslin is survived by his wife, Dorothy; daughter, Karen Cooper, and son-in-law, Steven Hess; son, Kenneth Breslin, and daughter-in-law, Joy Breslin; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation.