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Prolific Developer Lacks Memorial

LI's first enclosed shopping complex was the Walt Whitman Mall. (Newsday Photo/Stan Wolfson)

By James T. Madore | Staff Writer

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THERE'S NO STREET named after David Muss in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, but maybe there should be. The controversial developer is responsible for three of the area's eight malls.

Muss was a demanding boss, often asking the impossible from subordinates. In 1962, he decided to enclose Walt Whitman Mall at the last minute.

But he also "was a visionary . . . a very progressive man," said Wilbur Breslin, a longtime friend and competitor. "I admired the man because if he felt it was right to do, he went ahead and did it."

Muss' decisions produced Walt Whitman in South Huntington, the first enclosed mall on Long Island, and Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, the first with two levels throughout. He also built Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove.

Born in South Africa, Muss came to the United States while still an infant. He attended New York University and practiced law before entering real estate with his partner, Norman Winston. In the early years, their malls were known for having many shoe stores.

In a 1975 interview, Muss defended the malls' tenant mix. "The lenders insist on so called AAA credit-rated tenants . . . and that is the chain stores . . . usually shoe stores," he said. (In the 1970s, some referred to Smith Haven as "Shoe Haven Mall.")

A 1968 Newsday investigation found that two Brookhaven councilmen had ties to companies holding $700,000 in contracts to build Smith Haven. Their votes also paved the way for necessary government approvals. They eventually were indicted. At the time, Muss said he knew one councilman also was a contractor, but said the official received no special treatment.

When told his friend isn't memorialized with a street name, Breslin pledged to do something at his proposed Brookhaven Town Center, which will be built on land once owned by Muss.

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