Welcome to Phase vii of the ExLog! Marna has officially lost her mind after thinking about the crazy ducks with out of control cloacas menacing shoppers here in the 1980's-90's. Make sure to sub and follow me all over social media to have a chance at winning a piece of Rolling Acres! Also, join my discord so you can chat with Marna, she's really nice, and I'll be sad if you don't. discord.gg/dmod Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there, take care!
my local (strip) mall growing up on LI was the sun vet mall, but friends and i used to prowl around the sunrise mall back in 2005-2010 or so when we wanted an actual mall experience without the overcrowding of the smith haven mall or any of the lively ones out in nassau... many fond memories of this place for us and you and your wife, i'm sure!
I remember there was an awesome store in this Mall. I don't remember the name but it started with an O. They sold a quoja board, a giant condom, candy bikini, the go the f🌕ck to sleep book and other outrageous things in that store 😂 I missed it
Long Island Native here. So something that wasn't mentioned in your video was actually a management change that happened within Westfield. They wanted to move the mall towards the Massapequa populace, as it had been slowly falling out of grace due to safety concerns. Teenagers, and people from Amityville, would come and cause disruptions which Roosevelt didn't have. Walmart's main reason for leaving was actually an increase in pricing in the new lease, which was intended to push them out. With their plans on renovating the 110 store after buying the adjacent lot, it made no sense for Walmart to renew that lease. So they pushed Walmart, McDonalds, Gamestop, the Candy Store, the knock-off designer store, Taco Bell, Wendy's, and a few other lower income based stores out by selectively increasing rent. They planned for a brand new highclass sports bar to be their selling point for Massapequa patrons, but it never happened. Nobody was paying the 30 dollars for a steak that they wanted, and the plan started falling apart. Companies did not want to open in a mall who's numbers were dwindling and security was an apparent issue. This is what ultimately lead to the mall's demise.
And now apparently according to a buddy of mine (and this could be a BS rumor), the reason why this mall is still standing is because the new owners want to essentially start fresh and turn it into a REALLY high end mall (like The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards in NYC) to compete with Roosevelt Field, but I don't see how something like that could be feasable.
@@francescov.3610 I've heard talks of opening a luxury apartment complex on the former site. I don't exactly know how true it is, but it makes sense given the company's dealings in the apartment business already. They've already fallen way too far for a revival into some luxury mall site, that would require them to put millions more into the property for something that didn't pan out well the first time.
What? "Teenagers, and people from Amityville, would come and cause disruptions which Roosevelt didn't have." Roosevelt Field literally has Hempstead right next door ... probably the worst area in ALL of Long Island. White suburbia is just happily ignorant of it.
@@CU08 You're not wrong, however in my experiences there was significantly less problems from Hempstead in Roosevelt than from Amityville in Sunrise. Walmart had a pretty high level of theft, for example.
Beginning in 1981 my wife and I made it an annual holiday tradition to drive from Queens to the Massapequa Mall. We carried on this tradition till 2019. The mall used to be bustling with shoppers during Christmas and you can feel the magic in the air. But in the past 10 or so years tenants started leaving and it's now another dead mall. It's truly a shame to see much a wonderful place end up this way. We may not have the holiday tradition anymore but we'll always have the great memories of the Massapequa mall.
The malls saturated the market and malls competition with others malls, the malls made money in the back of the mo and po stores and destroy the Main Street of cities and towns well their selfishness they started fighting each other like wolf 🐺. Good by
I was born and raised in Syosset on the north shore of the island in Nassau County. I used to be a bouncer at Zachary’s!!! I moved away 24 years ago, but visit frequently as I still have family and friends up there. In the 24 years I’ve been making that drive, I only travel at night. I never leave Virginia before 9pm this way by the time I reach the NYC area, everyone is already in bed. I have rarely hit any traffic as a result. In contrast, the half dozen times I made the mistake of traveling by day, I paid dearly for it. Now regarding Sunrise Mall, I am saddened to hear it has gone the way of so many other malls in this country. I did many a Christmas shopping days in that place. That, and Busy Bee! Pretty sure that place is long gone too. Oh well, New York is lost beyond saving anyway.
Very nice. I remember this mall very well from childhood in the 1970"s and 80's. That Macy's logo is original to the store. That store has barely been updated since it opened. I do remember when the mall had fountains and the fish ponds. It was really happening place in its prime - wall to wall shoppers. Then Roosevelt Field and Walt Whitman underwent major renovations and began attracting more upscale tenants. When the Deer Park Outlets opened, it basically all went downhill from there. Green Acres Mall , Smith Haven Mall and South Shore Mall continue to survive, but they too are no longer the major retail draws they once were.
This mall's Logo is like something right out of 1988, just looking at it gives me visions of camera film, VHS tapes, LeserDisk players, and Huge CRT TVs that are packaged like furniture, with such small screens. Ahh the simple days when tv remotes clicked like a good clicker should. Good Job Sal, I enjoyed every moment of your videos!
Never thought brick and mortar stores would be disappearing like they are, to just vanish, no trace of a virtual presence even. It's sad, and seeing these physical locations so empty is alarming and heartbreaking to me, cuz malls were where you went to spend the day, meet friends [old and new], spend time with family as you shop, walk around, ear and socialize. That's a time gone by, and I'm totally guilty of shopping primarily online and helped to contribute to the downfall of brick and mortar retail, but I honestly never thought physical stores and shopping centers would disappear like they have, the concept was just something that seemed impossible to me, in my head, anyway. I'm glad I was born when I was, I got to experience life when malls were the mecca of life, for us at that time. Ppl today aren't social like they were even a decade ago, there's an art to socializing that social media can't interpret, I just wonder what life will be like in another 10 or 20 years, if we're this disconnected interpersonally now, I hate to see what our future holds for us. Good luck, ppl. 🤷🏼♂️🙄😒😕
Sunrise mall in Massapequa is such a good bittersweet childhood memories, I remember the clear elevator when you down the elevator it have water fountain with koi fish and coints in the water fountain in early 2000s, good memories in that mall would never be forgotten and I grew up & raise in Long Island NY 🥺
I live 2 minutes away for 44 years now, It’s sad to see it closed. I spent many days/hours there as a teen in both arcades & just hanging out with friends. I seen many movies there also growing up.
This video just broke my heart. I do not understand why malls have become dinosaurs. When they were conceived, everyone was in awe of having everything in one place. They didn't have to use the strip stores. People didn't like them because of having to run in the rain & drive to the next destination. Yes, it does rain on malls too, but the people had the protection of inclement weather & having to drive to the next store. Everything under one roof. I remember when they built the very first mall in my area (Akron) if not in Ohio.That was in 1966 (yes that far back they have been in existence & I just dated myself lol)! That mall is still in operation thank goodness. I just don't understand why it shifted back to strip malls.
Thank you so much for doing this! My now 21 year old son had painted 2 tiles that were going to be placed downstairs by the bathrooms when he was 5 years old! While watching your video I was able to find it there! Thank you for preserving it through your video!
Semi-local to me. Urban Edge bought the property in early 2022 with the intention of building multifamily housing on the site. That proved to be a non-starter, for an unusual reason. Like most of Long Island there are no sewers in the area, and while a private septic system worked for the mall it would be way too expensive to build one suitable for the far greater amounts of wastewater hundreds of apartments would generate. Why Urban Edge didn't figure that out beforehand, well, I just don't know. One problem that's long plagued the property is very heavy traffic. Getting into the mall requires negotiating an array of brutal traffic lights. The South Shore Mall about 12 miles further east is much more successful despite being in a considerably lower income area, and a large part of the reason is much better road access. It also helps that South Shore is that much further away from the huge Roosevelt Field Mall. Coincidentally we were at Roosevelt Field this afternoon, and despite it being Mother's Day the mall was jammed. One more thing: there was an early urban legend that the original anchor E.J. Korvette's got its name from the founders, eight Jewish Korean War veterans. It's a charming story, but alas untrue.
I lived in Bay Shore from the time I was born until I was 15, just a few minutes away from the South Shore Mall. I went there quite often with my family. I currently live in Port Richey, Florida. I visited Bay Shore in 2022 and was pleasantly surprised to see that the South Shore Mall was still doing well. The mall was packed with people when I went there. No vacancies that I could see. The food court was full of options and people sitting down to eat. I thought it would've been dead like so many other malls in the U.S., but I'm glad that's not the case. My local mall in Port Richey (Gulf View Square) is so dead. About half of the retail spaces are vacant, the food court is void of any eating establishments, and the anchor space that was once occupied by Sears was demolished.
@@benjaminvlzI think one of the reasons The South Shore Mall is still doing well is because of all the restaurants in and around the mall. I have heard that it is also going to shut down. 😢
God this was an ideal place for Christmas shopping, as a kid this was my second favorite mall next to South Shore. Seeing this mall empty and desolate, it truly breaks my heart. This mall made so many childhood memories heck I remember buying my first Kirby game from a Radio Shack that was still open in there. I'm sure going to miss this place, goodbye Sunrise Mall, thank you for the memories of my childhood.
I live in Massapequa and grew up going to the Sunrise Mall in the late 1970’s and 1980’s. Brings back so many memories. Very sad that it closed. Thank you for doing this video…
Living on Long Island is horrible with traffic. To get off the island you have to leave around 5am for normal traffic. It's sad watching poor people trying to visit how truly terrible it is. I can't wait to move out of NY. Thanks for the video. We use to go to Sunrise Mall all the time as a kid. You pronounced Massapequa correctly impressive.
Late 80's early 90's Christmas Eve shopping actually had to leave my car and walk home due to the gridlock trying to get out onto sunrise highway. Spent my childhood walking to the mall through an unofficial entrance behind houses and through a sump. Game rooms called Galaxy and Time out were areas to hang with friends. Bought the debut Def Leppard album at Sam Goody, pizza at Capri Pizza, saw movies like Ferris Buellers Day off, Xanadu and Superman, bought gag gifts at Spencers gift shop and the Fun and Gift Shop, threw pennies from the 2nd level into the fountain, and bought my first golf clubs at Herman's Sports. The internet followed by the pandemic have officially killed the mall and its so odd seeing it now a ghost mall. Godspeed Sunrise Mall on your new venture. Generations of people will miss you.
29:38 Great video. It was very sad to watch. I worked in J.C. Penney's from 1981 to 84. It was a lot of fun. At Christmas-time you couldnt find a place to park. It was a time when someone worked in every department and we had a dress code. Shirt and tie for the guys. At night the part - timers like me were all college aged kids. In the mall the movie theater was always packed. People were always shopping and I remember people were happy and friendly. Such a different time. I will definitely start watching your other videos. Thanks for the great memory.
Lifetime Long Island guy the traffic is rediculous we used to hang out at sunrise mall and Zachary's lol 😂was a super Hot spot and the Hamptons of course amazing video brother ❤️
OMG seeing the red tile from rolling acres made me almost cry. I fell into the fountain when i was like 3 or 4. I remember it clearly, 4 decades later! The chlorine smell is the water, the cold water in my ear, my dad freaking out, my scream echoing like i never knew it could.... Thank you for preserving the history
Born and raised on Long Island and as much as I want to leave, I don’t know if I ever could. Traffic in the last 15 or so years has become truly atrocious and unless you’re traveling at an extremely off hour, then it’s now common place to be sitting in stop and go. Thank you for documenting the mall, as my Mother grew up in Massapequa and I have TONS of memories going to the mall as a kid. I hadn’t been there in some years recently, but the last memory I have was the place bustling with activity. Malls are becoming almost obsolete due to online shopping and places like Amazon being able to have merchandise in your hands the next day. Technology will always be both a blessing and a curse and I miss the days where you went to the store to purchase everything you needed. Thanks again for your great work!
This was such a great mall in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I had a lot of fun there as a kid. I thought it was so neat that they had ducks in the fountains… never saw that at a mall before. There was also that black cube sculpture by the parking lot that you could spin around outside of Nathans (which I think is in the East Village now). At that time, Sunrise was a better mall than Roosevelt Field IMHO.
I was a little kid taking a ride with my Aunt who was a high school bus driver in Massapequa when that mall was being built. I recall so many times going there and browsing the Suncoast Motion Picture Company store. It really was better searching and finding something than the instant gratification of the Net. You got out so much more. Much healthier mentally.
Thank you for all you do. I miss the mall I used to hang out in as a teen, and I find it interesting to see the dead malls you go to preserved on video for future generations to see.
Sad as teenagers we would spend all day in theses malls, meeting friends, hanging out, dating, watching movies, and just horsing around, that was back when people actually Met somewhere and interacted face to face
I never dreamt one day these massive malls would become the modern day dinosaurs!! They're all getting torn down to make way for the Amazons, Walmarts or empty fields of concrete abandoned parking lots. Thanks for videoing these for the last time!
Awesome work as always Sal. Thanks so much. I truly miss malls. One of my first jobs was at a Walden Software in a small mall in Texas. Great memories.
I grew up in this mall from 13-17 i soent everyday with friends in the food court good times and even better laughs. We used to have snowball fights INSIDE the food court, we would straight up grab a wheel barrel from sears fill it with snow balls wheel it into the food court and unload on every kid in sight 😂 the security there were the coolest people ever, even one security guard who is now a good friend of mine and a cop in fl also got recruited to the florida gators! Massapequa been my hometown for 20 of my 25 years living. Great town great people such an awesome vibe its sucha same the mall is closed. We all hated walmart haha Thank you for this video
I have been in this mall a hundred times if not more I can't BELIEVE it is this way now been watching you for at least 3 years now, never seen a video by you that I new and have been before Thank you FRANK......
Thank you! I worked at GNC there in the late 90's & took the kids there for Christmas & Easter pics. So many memories! Appreciate you preserving what was.🙏👊
Grew up right around the corner from this place and spent the better part of my high school days hanging out there on the weekends and after school ...seeing this breaks my heart ...... progress 😢
Wow, your "tour" really brings back memories! I used to do a lot of Christmas shopping at Sunrise Mall, and other times, too. Its so sad to see it empty now. It used to be packed full.
I shopped there often. I lived in Amityville, which is only a mile away, so it was convenient. I'm sad it's defunct. Hint: never drive anywhere in the vicinity of the 5 NYC boroughs or anywhere on LI on a weekday during rush hour. I't could turn into a 1/2 day event very quickly. Love your channel.
Rolling Acres! That is a blast from my past. It has been gone long enough that people are forgetting it. And there are enough other dead and dying malls around here.... I do think it is absolutely awesome that the mall actively sought out to rehome the koi fish. I guess I am just so use to malls moving their fish ponds to bare fountains that I didn't really think of what happens when they have an active pond. And a pond that was such a draw and well loved.
I grew up in Massapequa and went to this mall all the time as a child with my mother and as a teenager and young adult. I remember the movie theater, the book store, video game stores, the restaurants, the arcade. So upsetting what happened to this place over time.
I love that you have relics. I'm a medievalist by training, and I collect modern relics (e.g. Berlin wall piece, Mt. St. Helens ash, bits of the old Packard plant in Detroit that I actually got to tour before the redevelopment plans went sideways), so seeing that kind of reverence for random chunks of epic malls of yore warms my heart. If you found that chunk of Rolling Acres online, maybe my quest for a blue Lazarus store brick isn't in as vain as I thought it was.
Sal, I love to watch all of your dead mall videos. The story about the ducks chasing the customers down the mall had me almost on the floor laughing! It took me back to 1972. I was a senior in high school and was working part-time at the Sears in the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing, PA. One Saturday I was on my way back after lunch when I heard a lady screaming like she was being murdered. Suddenly the crowds parted, and the screaming lady was running down the concourse being chased by a rather decent sized gecko that had escaped from the pet store. Not sure what happened to her or the gecko, but it was hilarious!
I went there as a kid, spent too much time there as a teenager, and haven't been back in probably 20 years. It's crazy to see it like this, as it looks different and the same all at once. Anyways, great video.
The closing of malls here on LI just makes me ungodly depressed. Used to go to these all the time as a kid in the early 00’s. At least Smith Haven is still around.
Smith Haven's doing fairly well. Primark is about ready to open in the old JCP spot and there are a couple of new restaurants. While the conversion of the old Sears to medical offices means the end of retail in the space, it beats having a large vacancy and also recognizes that finding a new anchor would be nearly impossible.
I am from massapequa NY & was the go to mall for us locals. I have so many wonderful memories of this mall & I still can't believe that it's gone, from where sears was to the back is empty & sad. Which saddens me. It was mine & many others youths.
Pretty much. It's the only place they're allowed to. The remaining upscale malls kick them out, cops kick them out of parks if there's more than a few of them hanging out. There are very few Free "3rd spaces" (spaces that aren't home or work/school to exist in) for people to be in anymore.
When I was a kid, it made me sad to see the farms get bulldozed to build regional malls. Now it makes me sad to see the malls get bulldozed. As a grade schooler I lived 2 blocks away from Randhurst, my folks and I went to the grand opening of that stunning Victor Gruen mall. Later as a teen, I lived 2 miles from Woodfield, learned how to drive in the empty parking lot when it was being built. My friends and I called it Beanfield, after the crop of soybeans that grew there before it was a mall.
This my mall growing up in the 70s and 80s. It was a different place back then. I remember trying to catch one of the ducks when I was a kid, I never did catch one. I remember being dropped off by my parents to hang out for a few hours. I also remember how insane it was a couple days before Christmas when I finally did my shopping. I remember the movie theater, and the lines of people waiting to get into a movie that wound down the railing of the upper section of the mall. Orange Julius, Bavarian Pretzels were all there. It was always packed, and the sound was deafening. I remember looking for a tape or CD at Sam Goody. When I was really young, Santa Claus was there, and I remember the Christmas Tree that would talk to you. I hadn't been there in years but it was probably when the first signs of decline were happening. You knew there was a change but you couldn't imagine the mall ever looking like it does now. I'm glad I didn't see its decline, I will cherish the memories, how we bought goods, and how our relationship to getting what we wanted was very different. RIP Sunrise Mall. Thanks for the context you provided. I didn't realize how new the mall was when I was a kid. We moved to Long Island in 1974 and I remember there was this big colored plexiglass sculpture in the middle pond that looked very 70s. Oh, and you filmed this on my birthday!
that mall was my home as i grew up in massapequa.. i have tons of memories walking that mall.. the girlfirneds i had.. the relationships i made .. the gifts i bought for my family.. the Christmas feeling u got when it was snowing out and u were shopping.. what a shame :( i live in south carolina now.
I grew up in Wantagh just to the west of there. I spent so many years wandering Sunrise Mall as a kid and until 2020 when I moved. I know a lot about it. So many memories, from the Stearns to the Old Navy (Shoe Dept. Encore) to the little bridge over the koi pond that, as a 3 year old, I tripped over and split my chin open, requiring stitches lol. It makes me so incredibly sad to see Sunrise go the way of many other malls. I am actually surprised that it lasted as long as it did after the recession. It had been dying a slow death for several years after Walmart left. Westfield really tried to keep it afloat. I will cherish my days I spent there for the rest of my life. As far as what the future holds for it, they swear they're going to "redevelop" the area and they won't tear it down and turn it into condos. We'll see if they keep their word.
What was the name of the store upstairs in the corner that sold dvds, vhs, and movie memorabilia, etc? Suncoast, I think? I’ve been trying to remember.
So sad😢 growing up I regularly went to a few of the long island malls. malls were a staple hangout for young adults throughout all my young adult life, all these closings are surreal to me.
That traffic made me anxious just to look at! Lol. Thanks for braving it to share some footage of this mall with us. Looking forward to the rest of Phase VII!
Awesome mall and vid as always. That nightclub ad is also sooo incredibly top-tier 80’s, I effin’ love it. Unhinged Mario kart also sounds like something I need in my life… 😆
I'm a Long Island native: Great Neck to be exact. I've never been to this mall and most of the other malls on Long Island. For me it was Roosevelt Field and occasionally Green Acres. I went to the Broadway Mall at The Mid Island Shopping Plaza in Hicksville once. All the store names-Gertz, Stern's, A & S, Korvettes, The Whiz-bring back memories of the '70s, 80s, and '90s. Definitely representative of bygone era.
I used to work at this mall in the early 90’s at a store called Lechters Housewares near the Sbarros and across from A&S. my mum lives 5 mins away. Last I recall you can “enter” the mall through Home Goods which was still opened as of a few months ago. From what we have heard, the space is going to be torn down and condo types places put in its place. I will always miss that mall it was my weekend hangout place, and I got my 1st credit card at that Macy’s and bought a Mother’s Day gift with it. Lol 😢
Barely a mention of the movie theater! I think it closed around '98. That likely hurt some customer traffic. I also loved the arcade at Sunrise in the early 90's. I believe that 'Nobody Beats the WIZ' was originally a standalone store in the parking lot and then eventually moved to the mall proper after Woolworth's closed up.
Welcome to Phase vii of the ExLog! Marna has officially lost her mind after thinking about the crazy ducks with out of control cloacas menacing shoppers here in the 1980's-90's. Make sure to sub and follow me all over social media to have a chance at winning a piece of Rolling Acres! Also, join my discord so you can chat with Marna, she's really nice, and I'll be sad if you don't. discord.gg/dmod Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there, take care!
Glad you documented this. My wife and I used to “sneak out” and go to this mall in 2009. It’s such a special place to us. It’s sad to see it closed
my local (strip) mall growing up on LI was the sun vet mall, but friends and i used to prowl around the sunrise mall back in 2005-2010 or so when we wanted an actual mall experience without the overcrowding of the smith haven mall or any of the lively ones out in nassau... many fond memories of this place for us and you and your wife, i'm sure!
Well if you vote for democrats it’s partly your fault lol. Welcome to the new normal.
I was there a while back as well.
I remember there was an awesome store in this Mall. I don't remember the name but it started with an O.
They sold a quoja board, a giant condom, candy bikini, the go the f🌕ck to sleep book and other outrageous things in that store 😂 I missed it
Sneaking out in 2009? Damn, thanks for making me feel old as hell lol
Long Island Native here. So something that wasn't mentioned in your video was actually a management change that happened within Westfield. They wanted to move the mall towards the Massapequa populace, as it had been slowly falling out of grace due to safety concerns. Teenagers, and people from Amityville, would come and cause disruptions which Roosevelt didn't have. Walmart's main reason for leaving was actually an increase in pricing in the new lease, which was intended to push them out. With their plans on renovating the 110 store after buying the adjacent lot, it made no sense for Walmart to renew that lease. So they pushed Walmart, McDonalds, Gamestop, the Candy Store, the knock-off designer store, Taco Bell, Wendy's, and a few other lower income based stores out by selectively increasing rent. They planned for a brand new highclass sports bar to be their selling point for Massapequa patrons, but it never happened. Nobody was paying the 30 dollars for a steak that they wanted, and the plan started falling apart. Companies did not want to open in a mall who's numbers were dwindling and security was an apparent issue. This is what ultimately lead to the mall's demise.
And now apparently according to a buddy of mine (and this could be a BS rumor), the reason why this mall is still standing is because the new owners want to essentially start fresh and turn it into a REALLY high end mall (like The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards in NYC) to compete with Roosevelt Field, but I don't see how something like that could be feasable.
@@francescov.3610 I've heard talks of opening a luxury apartment complex on the former site. I don't exactly know how true it is, but it makes sense given the company's dealings in the apartment business already. They've already fallen way too far for a revival into some luxury mall site, that would require them to put millions more into the property for something that didn't pan out well the first time.
@@Dang23211 Or maybe it'll just stay dead forever like the Source mall
What? "Teenagers, and people from Amityville, would come and cause disruptions which Roosevelt didn't have." Roosevelt Field literally has Hempstead right next door ... probably the worst area in ALL of Long Island. White suburbia is just happily ignorant of it.
@@CU08 You're not wrong, however in my experiences there was significantly less problems from Hempstead in Roosevelt than from Amityville in Sunrise. Walmart had a pretty high level of theft, for example.
Beginning in 1981 my wife and I made it an annual holiday tradition to drive from Queens to the Massapequa Mall. We carried on this tradition till 2019. The mall used to be bustling with shoppers during Christmas and you can feel the magic in the air. But in the past 10 or so years tenants started leaving and it's now another dead mall. It's truly a shame to see much a wonderful place end up this way. We may not have the holiday tradition anymore but we'll always have the great memories of the Massapequa mall.
The malls saturated the market and malls competition with others malls, the malls made money in the back of the mo and po stores and destroy the Main Street of cities and towns well their selfishness they started fighting each other like wolf 🐺. Good by
Why this one and not Roosevelt field?
@@taramirarchi439 For real whys he driving past like 3 better mall to get to sunrise?
@@taramirarchi439 In the 1980s and 90s Roosevelt was not a better Mall, it wasn't until serious renovations that it stole the spotlight.
Love your videos. I'm an introverted person with social anxiety. Seeing large open spaces with no people is oddly relaxing.
I was born and raised in Syosset on the north shore of the island in Nassau County.
I used to be a bouncer at Zachary’s!!!
I moved away 24 years ago, but visit frequently as I still have family and friends up there.
In the 24 years I’ve been making that drive, I only travel at night. I never leave Virginia before 9pm this way by the time I reach the NYC area, everyone is already in bed.
I have rarely hit any traffic as a result.
In contrast, the half dozen times I made the mistake of traveling by day, I paid dearly for it.
Now regarding Sunrise Mall, I am saddened to hear it has gone the way of so many other malls in this country.
I did many a Christmas shopping days in that place. That, and Busy Bee! Pretty sure that place is long gone too.
Oh well, New York is lost beyond saving anyway.
Very nice. I remember this mall very well from childhood in the 1970"s and 80's. That Macy's logo is original to the store. That store has barely been updated since it opened. I do remember when the mall had fountains and the fish ponds. It was really happening place in its prime - wall to wall shoppers. Then Roosevelt Field and Walt Whitman underwent major renovations and began attracting more upscale tenants. When the Deer Park Outlets opened, it basically all went downhill from there. Green Acres Mall , Smith Haven Mall and South Shore Mall continue to survive, but they too are no longer the major retail draws they once were.
This mall's Logo is like something right out of 1988, just looking at it gives me visions of camera film, VHS tapes, LeserDisk players, and Huge CRT TVs that are packaged like furniture, with such small screens. Ahh the simple days when tv remotes clicked like a good clicker should. Good Job Sal, I enjoyed every moment of your videos!
We appreciate your sacrifice Sal. That traffic is no joke!
When Sunrise Mall opened it was on the local news and it a great place for teens to hang out. It ashamed to see it in decline.
Hart breaking to see my childhood mall close down. Great video thank you! ❤
That vintage Macy’s logo is sick. That’s gotta be the only Macy’s store left with the old logo.
Never thought brick and mortar stores would be disappearing like they are, to just vanish, no trace of a virtual presence even. It's sad, and seeing these physical locations so empty is alarming and heartbreaking to me, cuz malls were where you went to spend the day, meet friends [old and new], spend time with family as you shop, walk around, ear and socialize. That's a time gone by, and I'm totally guilty of shopping primarily online and helped to contribute to the downfall of brick and mortar retail, but I honestly never thought physical stores and shopping centers would disappear like they have, the concept was just something that seemed impossible to me, in my head, anyway. I'm glad I was born when I was, I got to experience life when malls were the mecca of life, for us at that time. Ppl today aren't social like they were even a decade ago, there's an art to socializing that social media can't interpret, I just wonder what life will be like in another 10 or 20 years, if we're this disconnected interpersonally now, I hate to see what our future holds for us. Good luck, ppl. 🤷🏼♂️🙄😒😕
Sunrise mall in Massapequa is such a good bittersweet childhood memories, I remember the clear elevator when you down the elevator it have water fountain with koi fish and coints in the water fountain in early 2000s, good memories in that mall would never be forgotten and I grew up & raise in Long Island NY 🥺
I live 2 minutes away for 44 years now, It’s sad to see it closed. I spent many days/hours there as a teen in both arcades & just hanging out with friends. I seen many movies there also growing up.
The Macy’s logo is the absolute best!
That's the original logo from the 70's. You don't see many of them anymore
This video just broke my heart. I do not understand why malls have become dinosaurs. When they were conceived, everyone was in awe of having everything in one place. They didn't have to use the strip stores. People didn't like them because of having to run in the rain & drive to the next destination. Yes, it does rain on malls too, but the people had the protection of inclement weather & having to drive to the next store. Everything under one roof. I remember when they built the very first mall in my area (Akron) if not in Ohio.That was in 1966 (yes that far back they have been in existence & I just dated myself lol)! That mall is still in operation thank goodness. I just don't understand why it shifted back to strip malls.
This was my childhood mall, I used to go to this mall every other Saturday when I was younger. It's sad seeing the mall fall apart like this.
Thank you so much for doing this! My now 21 year old son had painted 2 tiles that were going to be placed downstairs by the bathrooms when he was 5 years old! While watching your video I was able to find it there! Thank you for preserving it through your video!
Always sad to see another mall being abandoned and left to rot. Glad you got one last look before it's inevitably torn down. Great video 👍.
Semi-local to me.
Urban Edge bought the property in early 2022 with the intention of building multifamily housing on the site. That proved to be a non-starter, for an unusual reason. Like most of Long Island there are no sewers in the area, and while a private septic system worked for the mall it would be way too expensive to build one suitable for the far greater amounts of wastewater hundreds of apartments would generate. Why Urban Edge didn't figure that out beforehand, well, I just don't know.
One problem that's long plagued the property is very heavy traffic. Getting into the mall requires negotiating an array of brutal traffic lights. The South Shore Mall about 12 miles further east is much more successful despite being in a considerably lower income area, and a large part of the reason is much better road access. It also helps that South Shore is that much further away from the huge Roosevelt Field Mall. Coincidentally we were at Roosevelt Field this afternoon, and despite it being Mother's Day the mall was jammed.
One more thing: there was an early urban legend that the original anchor E.J. Korvette's got its name from the founders, eight Jewish Korean War veterans. It's a charming story, but alas untrue.
I lived in Bay Shore from the time I was born until I was 15, just a few minutes away from the South Shore Mall. I went there quite often with my family. I currently live in Port Richey, Florida. I visited Bay Shore in 2022 and was pleasantly surprised to see that the South Shore Mall was still doing well. The mall was packed with people when I went there. No vacancies that I could see. The food court was full of options and people sitting down to eat. I thought it would've been dead like so many other malls in the U.S., but I'm glad that's not the case. My local mall in Port Richey (Gulf View Square) is so dead. About half of the retail spaces are vacant, the food court is void of any eating establishments, and the anchor space that was once occupied by Sears was demolished.
@@benjaminvlzI think one of the reasons The South Shore Mall is still doing well is because of all the restaurants in and around the mall. I have heard that it is also going to shut down. 😢
God this was an ideal place for Christmas shopping, as a kid this was my second favorite mall next to South Shore. Seeing this mall empty and desolate, it truly breaks my heart. This mall made so many childhood memories heck I remember buying my first Kirby game from a Radio Shack that was still open in there. I'm sure going to miss this place, goodbye Sunrise Mall, thank you for the memories of my childhood.
I live in Massapequa and grew up going to the Sunrise Mall in the late 1970’s and 1980’s. Brings back so many memories. Very sad that it closed. Thank you for doing this video…
Living on Long Island is horrible with traffic. To get off the island you have to leave around 5am for normal traffic. It's sad watching poor people trying to visit how truly terrible it is. I can't wait to move out of NY. Thanks for the video. We use to go to Sunrise Mall all the time as a kid. You pronounced Massapequa correctly impressive.
still the Best Place to live
Thanks for busting ass to get out to these places and documenting them! Love the work!
that traffic looked insane thats typical nyc traffic around the holidays i'd def avoid
Late 80's early 90's Christmas Eve shopping actually had to leave my car and walk home due to the gridlock trying to get out onto sunrise highway. Spent my childhood walking to the mall through an unofficial entrance behind houses and through a sump. Game rooms called Galaxy and Time out were areas to hang with friends. Bought the debut Def Leppard album at Sam Goody, pizza at Capri Pizza, saw movies like Ferris Buellers Day off, Xanadu and Superman, bought gag gifts at Spencers gift shop and the Fun and Gift Shop, threw pennies from the 2nd level into the fountain, and bought my first golf clubs at Herman's Sports. The internet followed by the pandemic have officially killed the mall and its so odd seeing it now a ghost mall. Godspeed Sunrise Mall on your new venture. Generations of people will miss you.
29:38 Great video. It was very sad to watch. I worked in J.C. Penney's from 1981 to 84. It was a lot of fun. At Christmas-time you couldnt find a place to park. It was a time when someone worked in every department and we had a dress code. Shirt and tie for the guys. At night the part - timers like me were all college aged kids. In the mall the movie theater was always packed. People were always shopping and I remember people were happy and friendly. Such a different time. I will definitely start watching your other videos. Thanks for the great memory.
As a Long Island native who has memories of visting here as a kid.
This takes me back.
It’s crazy to think how fast and how easily tons of malls are just dying. Sad honestly.
That guy at 18:42 was ready for some SERIOUS mall walkin' action!
Lolol right?
Lifetime Long Island guy the traffic is rediculous we used to hang out at sunrise mall and Zachary's lol 😂was a super Hot spot and the Hamptons of course amazing video brother ❤️
I used to go here and play after school everyday when I was younger. It’s sad to see it go but not all things last forever 😢
OMG seeing the red tile from rolling acres made me almost cry. I fell into the fountain when i was like 3 or 4. I remember it clearly, 4 decades later! The chlorine smell is the water, the cold water in my ear, my dad freaking out, my scream echoing like i never knew it could.... Thank you for preserving the history
Born and raised on Long Island and as much as I want to leave, I don’t know if I ever could. Traffic in the last 15 or so years has become truly atrocious and unless you’re traveling at an extremely off hour, then it’s now common place to be sitting in stop and go. Thank you for documenting the mall, as my Mother grew up in Massapequa and I have TONS of memories going to the mall as a kid. I hadn’t been there in some years recently, but the last memory I have was the place bustling with activity. Malls are becoming almost obsolete due to online shopping and places like Amazon being able to have merchandise in your hands the next day. Technology will always be both a blessing and a curse and I miss the days where you went to the store to purchase everything you needed. Thanks again for your great work!
This was such a great mall in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I had a lot of fun there as a kid. I thought it was so neat that they had ducks in the fountains… never saw that at a mall before. There was also that black cube sculpture by the parking lot that you could spin around outside of Nathans (which I think is in the East Village now). At that time, Sunrise was a better mall than Roosevelt Field IMHO.
I was a little kid taking a ride with my Aunt who was a high school bus driver in Massapequa when that mall was being built. I recall so many times going there and browsing the Suncoast Motion Picture Company store. It really was better searching and finding something than the instant gratification of the Net. You got out so much more. Much healthier mentally.
Man I grew up going to that place seeing the koi fish swimming around I feel so sad seeing it so empty
Thank you for all you do. I miss the mall I used to hang out in as a teen, and I find it interesting to see the dead malls you go to preserved on video for future generations to see.
Sal, you are VERY brave using that elevator. What if it got stuck? I did not see a phone in there.
Definitely worth the wait. You put a lot of time into your videos and your style is unmatched on you tube. Thanks from Ohio .
Grew up at this mall, so many memories there from 2010-2018. You drove right past my house on the way there
The play area and sbarro gives me nostalgia😢
Sad as teenagers we would spend all day in theses malls, meeting friends, hanging out, dating, watching movies, and just horsing around, that was back when people actually Met somewhere and interacted face to face
...and also teaching birds to say slurs. What a wonderful time to be a teenager in the mall movement.
I'm from Long Island my whole life. It's funny to finally see LI on a youtube video and it's like "traffic is terrible, look at this shitty mall". Lol
Thanks for coming bro. I spent alot of time here as a kid.
I never dreamt one day these massive malls would become the modern day dinosaurs!! They're all getting torn down to make way for the Amazons, Walmarts or empty fields of concrete abandoned parking lots. Thanks for videoing these for the last time!
Congratulations on starting on phase 7. I can't wait to see more amazing content and keep it up with these amazing exlogs
This feels weird, seeing a video about a place I live not too far from. Didn’t even search it up. I just stumbled upon this.
Same😩😭 carle place here !
Awesome work as always Sal. Thanks so much. I truly miss malls. One of my first jobs was at a Walden Software in a small mall in Texas. Great memories.
I grew up in this mall from 13-17 i soent everyday with friends in the food court good times and even better laughs. We used to have snowball fights INSIDE the food court, we would straight up grab a wheel barrel from sears fill it with snow balls wheel it into the food court and unload on every kid in sight 😂 the security there were the coolest people ever, even one security guard who is now a good friend of mine and a cop in fl also got recruited to the florida gators! Massapequa been my hometown for 20 of my 25 years living. Great town great people such an awesome vibe its sucha same the mall is closed. We all hated walmart haha Thank you for this video
Used to love this mall. Was here all the time growing up. Crazy to see it like this.
I have been in this mall a hundred times if not more I can't BELIEVE it is this way now been watching you for at least 3 years now, never seen a video by you that I new and have been before Thank you FRANK......
Thank you! I worked at GNC there in the late 90's & took the kids there for Christmas & Easter pics. So many memories! Appreciate you preserving what was.🙏👊
Grew up right around the corner from this place and spent the better part of my high school days hanging out there on the weekends and after school ...seeing this breaks my heart ...... progress 😢
spent a lot of time there in the 80s to early 90s. Great times. RIP Sunrise Mall
I had no idea the mall was shut down. Wow!!! I stayed in Amityville for years. Everything has been a mock since 2020. Horrible.
Everyone in Massapequa HATED Walmart. We were all thrilled to see it leave the area.
Wow, your "tour" really brings back memories! I used to do a lot of Christmas shopping at Sunrise Mall, and other times, too. Its so sad to see it empty now. It used to be packed full.
Brilliant video, once again! Greatly appreciate each and every one of them!
I was at a ballgame when this premiered. I didn't get youtube's notification, either. Huge respect for braving Long Island's notorious traffic!
I shopped there often. I lived in Amityville, which is only a mile away, so it was convenient. I'm sad it's defunct.
Hint: never drive anywhere in the vicinity of the 5 NYC boroughs or anywhere on LI on a weekday during rush hour. I't could turn into a 1/2 day event very quickly.
Love your channel.
Rolling Acres! That is a blast from my past. It has been gone long enough that people are forgetting it. And there are enough other dead and dying malls around here....
I do think it is absolutely awesome that the mall actively sought out to rehome the koi fish. I guess I am just so use to malls moving their fish ponds to bare fountains that I didn't really think of what happens when they have an active pond. And a pond that was such a draw and well loved.
kudos to you for surviving that traffic!
The parrot/duck thing sounds insane. Can't believe they actually did that 🤣
I grew up in Massapequa and went to this mall all the time as a child with my mother and as a teenager and young adult. I remember the movie theater, the book store, video game stores, the restaurants, the arcade. So upsetting what happened to this place over time.
I love that you have relics. I'm a medievalist by training, and I collect modern relics (e.g. Berlin wall piece, Mt. St. Helens ash, bits of the old Packard plant in Detroit that I actually got to tour before the redevelopment plans went sideways), so seeing that kind of reverence for random chunks of epic malls of yore warms my heart. If you found that chunk of Rolling Acres online, maybe my quest for a blue Lazarus store brick isn't in as vain as I thought it was.
So sad to see what has happened to this grand old place. I remember just how crazy it could be during the Christmas Holidays.
Awesome start to phase vii. WOOOOOOO
Sal, I love to watch all of your dead mall videos. The story about the ducks chasing the customers down the mall had me almost on the floor laughing! It took me back to 1972. I was a senior in high school and was working part-time at the Sears in the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing, PA. One Saturday I was on my way back after lunch when I heard a lady screaming like she was being murdered. Suddenly the crowds parted, and the screaming lady was running down the concourse being chased by a rather decent sized gecko that had escaped from the pet store. Not sure what happened to her or the gecko, but it was hilarious!
Always glad when these notifications pop up! Great content as always!
I went there as a kid, spent too much time there as a teenager, and haven't been back in probably 20 years. It's crazy to see it like this, as it looks different and the same all at once. Anyways, great video.
Thanks for all the videos. It takes time and dedication with some added talent to put these together. Keep posting and have a great day.
Sal, your walk thru brings back yesteryear..1967 to 2020.. Dreaded shutdown happened 10years before ,by way of anemic big box stores. Thank you💜
The ducks and parrots story was hilarious. Thanks I needed a good laugh today......
Such memories here, the movie theater, woolworths in the 80’s, miss it so much
This place would make incredible small apartment units. What a beautiful building.
The closing of malls here on LI just makes me ungodly depressed. Used to go to these all the time as a kid in the early 00’s. At least Smith Haven is still around.
Smith Haven's doing fairly well. Primark is about ready to open in the old JCP spot and there are a couple of new restaurants. While the conversion of the old Sears to medical offices means the end of retail in the space, it beats having a large vacancy and also recognizes that finding a new anchor would be nearly impossible.
I am from massapequa NY & was the go to mall for us locals. I have so many wonderful memories of this mall & I still can't believe that it's gone, from where sears was to the back is empty & sad. Which saddens me. It was mine & many others youths.
Another epic mall gone, dead, and closed. It's a great send-off, Sal, and I enjoyed it.
Where do teenagers hang out now..., in their basements with smart phone and game machines? You do a great job on this series. I love them.
Pretty much. It's the only place they're allowed to. The remaining upscale malls kick them out, cops kick them out of parks if there's more than a few of them hanging out. There are very few Free "3rd spaces" (spaces that aren't home or work/school to exist in) for people to be in anymore.
A lot of them go to the gym, or places like applebees. Playing cards is popular.
When I was a kid, it made me sad to see the farms get bulldozed to build regional malls. Now it makes me sad to see the malls get bulldozed. As a grade schooler I lived 2 blocks away from Randhurst, my folks and I went to the grand opening of that stunning Victor Gruen mall. Later as a teen, I lived 2 miles from Woodfield, learned how to drive in the empty parking lot when it was being built. My friends and I called it Beanfield, after the crop of soybeans that grew there before it was a mall.
This my mall growing up in the 70s and 80s. It was a different place back then. I remember trying to catch one of the ducks when I was a kid, I never did catch one. I remember being dropped off by my parents to hang out for a few hours. I also remember how insane it was a couple days before Christmas when I finally did my shopping. I remember the movie theater, and the lines of people waiting to get into a movie that wound down the railing of the upper section of the mall. Orange Julius, Bavarian Pretzels were all there. It was always packed, and the sound was deafening. I remember looking for a tape or CD at Sam Goody. When I was really young, Santa Claus was there, and I remember the Christmas Tree that would talk to you. I hadn't been there in years but it was probably when the first signs of decline were happening. You knew there was a change but you couldn't imagine the mall ever looking like it does now. I'm glad I didn't see its decline, I will cherish the memories, how we bought goods, and how our relationship to getting what we wanted was very different. RIP Sunrise Mall.
Thanks for the context you provided. I didn't realize how new the mall was when I was a kid. We moved to Long Island in 1974 and I remember there was this big colored plexiglass sculpture in the middle pond that looked very 70s. Oh, and you filmed this on my birthday!
This was an extremely well researched video. It took me back to the days when Malls were a thing. Thank you!
that mall was my home as i grew up in massapequa.. i have tons of memories walking that mall.. the girlfirneds i had.. the relationships i made .. the gifts i bought for my family.. the Christmas feeling u got when it was snowing out and u were shopping.. what a shame :( i live in south carolina now.
0:02 I love that sound! Reminds me as a lil 5 year old boy falling asleep in the doctors waiting room.
Loud electrical mains hum, one of the signature sounds of a dead mall.
Lol welcome to my backyard here in queens and everyday the traffic is still there. Malls my pass by but the Long Island crawl will never go away
The Winnebago man echo sound reference cemented this video for me hahaha
Good to see you sal hope you doing well
I grew up in Wantagh just to the west of there. I spent so many years wandering Sunrise Mall as a kid and until 2020 when I moved. I know a lot about it. So many memories, from the Stearns to the Old Navy (Shoe Dept. Encore) to the little bridge over the koi pond that, as a 3 year old, I tripped over and split my chin open, requiring stitches lol. It makes me so incredibly sad to see Sunrise go the way of many other malls. I am actually surprised that it lasted as long as it did after the recession. It had been dying a slow death for several years after Walmart left. Westfield really tried to keep it afloat. I will cherish my days I spent there for the rest of my life. As far as what the future holds for it, they swear they're going to "redevelop" the area and they won't tear it down and turn it into condos. We'll see if they keep their word.
What was the name of the store upstairs in the corner that sold dvds, vhs, and movie memorabilia, etc? Suncoast, I think? I’ve been trying to remember.
So sad😢 growing up I regularly went to a few of the long island malls. malls were a staple hangout for young adults throughout all my young adult life, all these closings are surreal to me.
I hung out here all the time in the 90’s, but I’m happy to see it go. The world changes and that’s ok
Awesome video Sal! Love the merch ideas. Hope I could get a piece of that tile from rolling acres.
Thanks Sal, awesome as always.
That traffic made me anxious just to look at! Lol. Thanks for braving it to share some footage of this mall with us. Looking forward to the rest of Phase VII!
Used to work in this mall at a kiosk back in 2012ish. Even back then, foot traffic was super light. Spooky now to see it so incredibly empty.
Awesome mall and vid as always. That nightclub ad is also sooo incredibly top-tier 80’s, I effin’ love it. Unhinged Mario kart also sounds like something I need in my life… 😆
I'm a Long Island native: Great Neck to be exact. I've never been to this mall and most of the other malls on Long Island. For me it was Roosevelt Field and occasionally Green Acres. I went to the Broadway Mall at The Mid Island Shopping Plaza in Hicksville once.
All the store names-Gertz, Stern's, A & S, Korvettes, The Whiz-bring back memories of the '70s, 80s, and '90s. Definitely representative of bygone era.
I used to work at this mall in the early 90’s at a store called Lechters Housewares near the Sbarros and across from A&S. my mum lives 5 mins away. Last I recall you can “enter” the mall through Home Goods which was still opened as of a few months ago. From what we have heard, the space is going to be torn down and condo types places put in its place. I will always miss that mall it was my weekend hangout place, and I got my 1st credit card at that Macy’s and bought a Mother’s Day gift with it. Lol 😢
Barely a mention of the movie theater! I think it closed around '98. That likely hurt some customer traffic. I also loved the arcade at Sunrise in the early 90's. I believe that 'Nobody Beats the WIZ' was originally a standalone store in the parking lot and then eventually moved to the mall proper after Woolworth's closed up.
Love it. Thanks, Sal!