I grew up in Copiague and went to this mall a lot growing up in the 90s and 2000s. Bizarre to see this mall so empty but it had been going downhill for a long time because they did nothing to stop kids and drug addicts loitering by the entrances and hassling customers. WalMart closing was the beginning of the end for the mall.
As of late 2023 the food court was gutted to make way for a new simulation attraction that is set to open in 2025. Meanwhile a portion of the south wing of the second floor is now occupied by a sports training complex with an indoor trampoline park occupying the space where Saks Off 5th was.
420th like. great video. my dad moved to massapequa in the early aughts and i'd go here occassionally. i grew up going to smith haven, south shore mall, even roosevelt. i'd never heard of sunrise mall. back (only) 20 years ago it was still a lively mall. sad that it didn't make it, those photos at the end and how you showed then/now was very cool. thanks for making this video !
So sad. Penneys was my favorite store too. I can recall every square ft of that store in detail. I went there about a year ago. Macy's still looks the same inside. But Sears, Penneys, Dime bank and the elevator. Not as creepy as I thought but just so so sad.
Why not house the illegal immigrants and mentally ill homeless here? They could maintain the place and keep it clean. Having them in one location would be an added bonus because the government would only have one place to deliver the money, free phones, gourmet foods and any other luxury items they request.
My guess is either the mall is going to have to buy out the remaining 3 tenants, or they are going to have to create "egress" for their mall access doors. It also depends on the zoning, if the property is stuck on commercial and cannot be converted, there may not be any reason to redevelop it.
Spent many days hanging out in the mall, worked there in a few places, and it always used to be so busy. I remember walking around the big cube and hanging out in the arcade. Both the sega and regular arcade. Used to visit my friends working at the gamestop downstairs by mcdonalds and grab lunch with them in the food court upstairs.
@rayjohn5709 Raymour & Flanigan is closed too. As far as I know, only Macy’s, Dave and Buster’s, and XSport remain open. I haven’t heard any news about Macy’s closing.
@@furbybridgers Dave & Busters has now recently closed at Macy’s, Dick’s, and XSport are the only stores left and also, it’s been a while since you’ve posted last and I’m wondering when you’ll post again.
Thanks for this and for doing what you do, this was really lovely. Why do I love stuff like this so much it hurts? the way we commune with these spaces of the past, mourning their loss while simultaneously appreciating them as they persist into the present in this obviously strained way... I like your optimism at the end there. Good things are happening
Worked for Gertz from 10/75 - 3/80...worked in the Massapequa store from 1/76 - 11/77...best part of working there...I met my beloved wife...fond memories ❤
This mall is just a smaller example of Long Island as a whole. Both dead beyond saving. I was born and raised in Syosset but moved off the island 24 years ago and never looked back.
That cardboard "Rax" sign in the food court is a prop that was recently put up for some sort of stunt or filming that they were doing. The real name of that place was "Little Tokyo". Rax was a weird Arby's-type fast food joint that only existed in the Rust Belt and never had any stores in the NY Metro area. Also, they went bankrupt before this mall was built. If you look closely, the menu board in the Rax is for a Japanese restaurant. At least someone has been using the mall for something useful!
It's rough seeing such a big part of my teenage years basically gone. I used to take the bus up to buy games at GameStop, anime at FYE, manga at... I think it was a Walden Books? And after we'd hang out at the Food Court or cross the street over to Toys R Us and buy those cheap collapsible lightsaber toys to duel with in the parking lot. Heck, I remember when Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire came out I brought my Gameboy Advance, my copy of Ruby and my Link Cable with me to the GameStop next to Auntie Anne's, and I restarted the demo unit they had out for Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire to trade the other two starters I didn't pick over to my own game. Took a while too since I needed females and the starter Pokémon only have a 1/8 chance to be female.
I worked at JCPenney when it first opened.The Mall was just great and just so unique. One day my boyfriend came to meet me on my lunch break and as we were walking through the mall he gave me an engagement ring!! Very exciting! Except then after we ate, I had to go back to work in JCP! LOL! We will be married 49 years in June!
Used to take my son (now 18) to that play area in front of Sears. Worked there back in HS through my early 20’s. Winners/Complete Athlete and Jean Nicole. Good times!!!
I my god I remember going to this mall and guess what I used to go there when I was a little kid going on the carousel 🎠 inside the mall and it was the 😢best memories of the world
It’s still dead right now. I went there yesterday and literally no stores are open except a Ranch Market and a dave and busters. Food courts blocked off too.
You have to also realize that Broadway Mall has been a competitor to the source and has outperformed it throughout its history. In March 2020 that mall’s main anchor closed after 63 years of operation; it was a Gertz when it opened in late 1956 and then became a Sterns in 1982 before it became a Macy’s in 2001. The other two anchor tenants are Target and IKEA and those anchors did not exist when the mall opened. Target opened in 2004 in the space where a JCPenney clearance store existed from 1999 to 2003. IKEA opened in 1991 but was not connected to the rest of the mall until a renovation project between 2002 and 2005. Due to the closure Broadway Mall has seen a slight increase in vacancies but nowhere near that of most struggling malls in the northeast at least not yet.
@SigmaRho2922 i never been to Broadway Mall and i have visited alot of malls including Samanea. Also heard Roosevelt Field was the reason why the Source failed as well. Even Green Acres Mall isn’t popular now.
This mall opened when I was fourteen and living in farmingdale. I remember pharrell's ice cream was on the first level next to macy's. It was fun to hang out there.
What a shame. I spent tons of time there with my friends starting around 1977. Two arcades, movie theaters, dozens of restaurants, dozens of clothing stores, four bookstores, even a head shop. My little brother fell into the duck pond around 1985 or so. It was always hopping there back in the 80s/90s, you'd go on Saturday afternoon and spend the whole day. Even around 2010-2012 when Walmart was there, "the mall" was still pretty busy. I can't believe what a ghost town it is now.
We used to go to Macys restaurant. It’s was at the entrance to the store. The french onion soup was really good. It was open in 1976 but after that it closed. The mall had quite a few restaurants at different times. This place on a Saturday in 1980 was packed. That’s what people did pre-internet and people had money to spend. People would spend the entire day. I can’t even imagine shopping all day anymore. But people did that. There was the movie theatre, book store, arcade, lots of food places. Pop stars would put on shows. Debbie Gibson did a mall tour. I was a kid so it kept us busy every weekend.
Few things I thought I should add. that entertainment Park the sign said that I can’t remember the name of has been coming soon for 2 years, so I don’t think that it’s coming soon. The reason the wok express sign is on is because the equipment in there still works and people work there and use it as a ghost kitchen . I know this because I believe when we noticed the sign was on when we came there once we saw a few people cooking. The 99 Ranch market is pretty new also, opened like last year I think. there are also still people in the mall offices (if you go to where the restrooms are, you’ll pass by offices with people in them). just thought that was kinda cool. I believe there were also tables in the food court around a year ago, even though no restaurants in the food court were open. I have no idea what the store Lola too is by the way. I searched a while online couldn’t find anything. maybe it was a fashion store of some sort? I also remember a while ago seeing an area that had like an outdoor playground inside the store. I am pretty sure it’s not there anymore though.
The entertainment park you mentioned (Empire Adventure Park) is still coming to the mall. They’ve been posting progress on their Facebook, as recent as last month.
I used to go to the Source a lot with my parents. When it opened *mumble mumble* years ago - there was a Rainforest Cafe there and we loved eating there. So much fun! It was down a bit from the Cheesecake Factory. I think H&M took its place.
As far as I know it’s still open to the public! They are actively redeveloping and opening new things in the mall. You should have no problem going in and walking around
My parents used to shop at Fortunoff back when it was in business, I tend to come by here when I go to Roosevelt Field mall which is pretty close by since it seems every time I am here something new is in store. If you were able to catch a glimpse at the entrance right next door to the parking garage, you could see a massive golden "Fortunoff" sign, unfortunately all those doors are boarded up. Another interesting thing is that the lights have been on 9 times out of 10 that I have stopped by. To my knowledge Fortunoff is supposed to become a furniture store, I know this because a member of the team working on it called "Colliers" posted about it on Instagram, also there have been Leonardo Furniture trucks outside the parking lot for quite sometime, (I actually saw a man walk out of Fortunoff and lock the padlock before getting into the truck, so I guess that confirms it.) That little pastel blue store next to the 2nd floor entrance which was open used to be "baby fortunoff" but all the signs were plastered up since they were literally engraved in the wall. That shuttered off open area next to the lower entrance to fortunoff was actually the fortunoff watch store believe it or not. As for fortunoff it may take a while for it to be repurposed, the roof and ceiling is literally decomposing both outside and inside, one of the entrances paint chips are scattered all over the floor. Some cool things I saw from multiple entrances were a fortunoff wheelchair with the label engraved in it, a fortunoff shopping basket, a photograph from the grand opening, showing the women who introduced jewelry to the company, liquidation tags on fixtures and little paper folds saying "10% off all watches." Believe it or not, the last time I went the display lights were on, and that white cotton stuff filmed at 0:50 is actually moldy, fake snow from the 2009 holiday season, ew! It seems that the store has been broken into multiple due to the handful of shattered doors, and its really sad because as each door is replaced, the fortunoff stickers on each door arent. I really hope this store has new life sometime, it really has potential. :(
Those are the alarms in the stores. They are constantly beeping. I asked a security guard about it and he said many of the store owners forgot to shut the alarms off before they left.
