Wilbur Breslin, whose eponymous firm has made its mark across Long Island, died on Wednesday at NYU Langone Hospital in Mineola, Newsday reported. He was 99.
Breslin Realty Development Corporation was and remains a major development player on Long Island. Franklin Plaza in Garden City is among the company’s developments. Last month, the firm proposed a 300-unit mixed-use development in Middle Island.
Breslin was born in the Bronx in 1926. Breslin’s father, Harry, ran a dozen fruit stands in Hempstead, which inspired Wilbur’s move into real estate. He started as a residential broker, opened an office in 1953 and pivoted to commercial brokering and development a dozen years later.
Breslin’s firm has been responsible for major, town-shaping developments in municipalities across Long Island, including The Langdon in Lynbrook, The Hub in Hempstead and Smith Haven Plaza in Lake Grove. It also stretched into New Jersey, Pennsylvania and even Mississippi and Louisiana.
Breslin is often referred to as the figure who convinced Kmart to open up shop on Long Island after two decades of campaigning.
“He was a driving force in bringing shopping centers to Long Island,” Edward Blumenfeld, president of Blumenfeld Development Group BDG, told the publication.
Breslin’s prolificness did create enemies, particularly with environmentalists. But Breslin tried to work with conservationists, according to his son, helping to usher in the 1993 Long Island Pine Barrens Act to preserve much of the Pine Barrens.
Breslin’s son, company president Kenneth Breslin, described his father as a “tireless worker … that could turn the pages of life as quickly as anybody.” Kyle Strober, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, called Wilbur a “titan of Long Island development.”
He donated millions to Hofstra University and the St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center, among other philanthropic causes. For good measure, he also wrote a 700-page memoir, titled “For Go-Getters Only.”
Breslin is survived by his wife, Dorothy, two children and their spouses, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
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