Stanley Schuckman may not be known for his personal shopping tours, but his expertise in retail store placement and mall development on Long Island is unmatched. For nearly 50 years, he used his deep knowledge of street patterns, shopping habits and demographics to determine the success of retail locations. His insights have significantly shaped Long Island’s retail landscape and made him an authority on malls.
Schuckman began his career in real estate in 1970 under the tutelage of Wilbur Breslin, founder of Breslin Realty. Breslin played a central role in his early development and Schuckman cites him as a significant influence. During this time, Schuckman worked with notable developers such as David Muss, who built the Walt Whitman, Smith Haven and Sunrise Malls, and Frank Castagna, the visionary behind the Americana Shopping Center in Manhasset and Wheatley Plaza in East Hills. These early collaborations laid the foundation for Schuckman’s influential career.
In 1979, Stanley Schuckman founded Schuckman Realty. The company quickly played a major role in shaping Long Island’s retail landscape. Schuckman worked with or represented notable developers and secured leases for major retailers such as Toys R Us, Shoprite, Pathmark, Costco, Home Depot, Lowes, Bed, Bath and Beyond and others, resulting in the development of six shopping center projects around Roosevelt Field Mall and five malls around Smith Haven Mall. Schuckman’s creative thinking led to the successful leasing of a ShopRite in Plainview Shopping Center, beginning the process of transforming a previously overlooked site into a thriving retail center. This also allowed Schuckman to spearhead the redevelopment of two more malls at the same intersection. Yes, Schuckman saw retail potential where others did not.
One of Schuckman’s notable accomplishments was helping Frank Castagna plan and lease his well-known Wheatley Plaza in East Hills. Despite initial skepticism, he attracted Pathmark from across the street and became the anchor tenant, demonstrating his skills as a market analyst and his ability to spot opportunities where others saw obstacles. His strategic negotiations also led to the successful redevelopment of a property in Bethpage that brought Waldbaum’s and eventually Lowe’s Home Center. These projects highlighted his talent for identifying and capitalizing on unique opportunities.
Schuckman’s collaboration with Alan Fortunoff on the Source Mall project in Westbury further underscored his problem-solving skills. Fortunoff had spent years trying to resolve a lease issue with Ohrbach’s Department Store that was getting in the way of Source Mall’s development. Schuckman ultimately resolved it in just 60 days, facilitating the mall’s development and demonstrating his exceptional negotiating skills.
Since 2013, Schuckman Realty has been led by Stanley’s son, Kenneth Schuckman, who continues the company’s legacy. Under Kenneth’s leadership, Schuckman Realty Inc. remains a leader in the Long Island real estate market, specializing in shopping centers and maintaining relationships with national tenants and supermarkets. The company’s continued success is a testament to the strong foundation laid by Stanley Schuckman.
Stanley Schuckman believes that the basic principles of shopping centers have remained unchanged since the 1960s. While they are adapted to meet the needs of different communities, the fundamental criteria that make a shopping center successful remain the same. His ability to combine market research with practical insight has been the key to his success in the real estate business, both in individual properties and in planning store locations for an entire market, whether it be Long Island or the entire New York City metropolitan area market.
Stanley Schuckman’s contributions to Long Island’s retail landscape are unparalleled. His innovative approach and deep understanding of market dynamics have left a lasting impact, ensuring that his legacy of initiating and developing more than 30 shopping centers and planning retail strategies on Long Island and the greater New York City area will continue to influence new generations of real estate professionals. In summary, Stanley Schuckman’s nearly five-decade career has left a significant mark on Long Island’s retail landscape. Yes, by combining the sound theories of market research applicable to the retailer and shopping center location with his everyday experience dealing with real estate and owners, Schuckman has proven that the formula for success is “patience and persistence”!
