{"id":5203,"date":"2026-04-02T18:28:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/?p=5203"},"modified":"2026-04-02T18:28:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:28:59","slug":"wilbur-breslin-passes-at-99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/?p=5203","title":{"rendered":"Wilbur Breslin Passes at 99"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Wilbur F. Breslin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although we did not always see eye to eye, Wilbur Breslin was always responsive and polite. Long-time MICAns may recall that we sent him flowers after he knocked down the Kmart building, at his expense. He got a real kick out of that. MICA helped MIFD secure the empty Kmart parcel for their 70th and 75th Anniversary celebrations there. We are quite wistful at his passing. The article below does a good job describing his “ascent”. Note that’s Fred Colin, Breslin’s longtime estranged partner on the majority of the Kmart parcel, to Wilbur’s right in the photo. Fred is still with us..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Long Island Buisness News<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long Island retail real estate icon Wilbur Breslin dies at 99 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

by David Winzelberg\/\/April 2, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilbur Breslin, a pioneer and icon of the Long Island retail real estate industry, died Wednesday at NYU Langone Hospital in Mineola surrounded by family. He was 99.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Breslin reimagined the region\u2019s retail landscape, a young Willie worked at the family\u2019s fruits and vegetables business, founded by his father Harry. Growing to a dozen stores under the Towne Fruit Market banner, Breslin cut his teeth behind the counter of the Hempstead shop in the early 1950s, while moonlighting in local bands on the clarinet and stand-up bass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But his dad suffered from emphysema and sold the business before moving to more forgiving climes out west. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe day we sold the last store my father flew out to Arizona and bought a liquor store and he was gone,\u201d Breslin told LIBN in 2013. \u201cBefore he left he gave me $1,000.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breslin used the money to open his first real estate office in 1953, concentrating on residential properties. But the endeavor was just the precursor to a remarkable career as one of suburbia\u2019s premier and prolific commercial developers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bronx-born Breslin, the vegetable man who got rich selling plots of potato fields, then richer still putting supermarkets in shopping centers with the parking right up front, built his own shopping center in 1974, assembling three parcels on New Hyde Park Road in Franklin Square. Breslin went on to develop dozens of retail centers along with residential communities in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and Louisiana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breslin\u2019s firm spawned some of Long Island\u2019s most notable retail brokers and developers, including Stanley Schuckman, Len Marzocco and Peter Ripka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWillie was one of the most brilliant real estate minds of all time,\u201d Ripka, who went on to establish Breslin competitor RIPCO Real Estate, said. \u201cAnd as hard as he worked and as focused as he was, at the end of the day he was really doing it all for his family.\u201d Beyond development, Breslin was instrumental in preserving environmentally sensitive land, contributing to the creation of the 1993 Long Island Pine Barrens Act. Breslin was also a founding member of the Association for a Better Long Island (ABLI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWilbur Breslin was a titan of Long Island development, credited with bringing nearly 80% of national retailers to the region and shaping the suburban landscape as we know it,\u201d said Kyle Strober, executive director of ABLI. \u201cGenerations of Long Islanders have enjoyed a quality of life directly attributable to his vision as a developer. 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.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always an engaging storyteller who pulled no punches, Breslin recently chronicled his life in his memoir, \u201cFor Go-Getters Only,\u201d sharing personal stories that included encounters with notable figures from film and politics. His legacy also includes significant philanthropic contributions, most notably the establishment of the Wilbur and Dorothy Breslin Hall at Hofstra University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breslin is survived by his beloved wife of 73 years, Dorothy; his daughter, Karen Cooper and son-in-law Steven Hess; his son, Kenneth and daughter-in-law Joy Breslin; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother, Paul, and sister Francine. Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 5 at Old Westbury Hebrew congregation at 21 Old Westbury Road in Old Westbury. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
James Garner, Richard Guardino, Tom Gulotta, Lou Ceruzzi, Wilbur Breslin and Fred Colin at the groundbreaking for The Hub Shopping Center in Hempstead. \/ Courtesy of Breslin Organization<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Request for MIFD use of Kmart parcel for 75th Anniversary<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The current plan for the Kmart parcel. MICA opposes the fuel station and Short Street access.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Wilbur F. Breslin. Although we did not always see eye to eye, Wilbur Breslin was always responsive and polite. Long-time MICAns may recall that we sent him flowers after he knocked down the Kmart building, at his expense. He got a real kick out of that. MICA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5203"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5207,"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5203\/revisions\/5207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}