Tuesday, November 11, 2025
A free community event on Oct. 4 celebrated the opening of the Langdon, a six-story apartment complex that has transformed a long-dormant corner of Lynbrook into a modern residential hub.
Located at 1 Langdon Place near the Long Island Rail Road station, the new 201-unit development drew crowds to its debut celebration, which featured food, music, and local business vendors. All sponsorship proceeds from the event benefited Mount Sinai South Nassau’s expanding cardiac services program — helping bring open-heart surgery to the South Shore of Nassau County for the first time.
“It’s an event that celebrates The Langdon and revitalization of Lynbrook,” said Justin Breslin, vice president of Breslin Realty Development Corporation, one of the two firms behind the project.
The Langdon, a joint venture by Garden City-based Breslin Realty and Fields Grade Development of Hoboken, New Jersey, represents more than just luxury apartments — it stands on a site layered with over a century of community history.
Long before The Langdon brought floor-to-ceiling windows and skyline views to Lynbrook, the property played several key roles in the village’s cultural and economic life.
“There is a wonderful history to the property,” said Art Mattson, Lynbrook Village Historian. “Certainly the Langdon will not be the same economic engine of the community that the Atlantic Knitting Mill as Lynbrook's largest employer was during the Depression, nor is it anything like the entertainment center that the Bates Opera House was before that, but it will add a great deal of life to a rundown corner of town.”
That corner, once part of John Langdon’s farm, saw its first major development in the mid-1900s when Jesse Bates opened the Bates Opera House. The venue hosted vaudeville, boxing matches, minstrel shows and occasional opera, and included a gymnasium.
But with the rise of silent films and the opening of the Arcade Theatre in 1913, the Opera House faded, eventually becoming a garage and stable. In 1916, it was reborn again: this time as the Atlantic Knitting Mills, later the village’s largest employer.
At its peak during the Depression, the mill employed nearly 200 people. Despite low wages and long hours, 60 hours per week for $8, the jobs were critical to the village’s survival. A 1933 strike by mostly women employees led to union recognition and improved working conditions, according to Mattson.
After World War II, the mill shuttered, and the site next housed the Mangrove Feather Factory, a niche business crafting flamboyant costumes for parades and carnivals. The factory operated until 2008 but remained vacant and deteriorating for more than a decade.
“The property is like the phoenix, the legendary immortal bird that cyclically regenerates and is born again,” Mattson said.
The Langdon includes 55 studios, 111 one-bedroom, and 35 two-bedroom apartments, with monthly rents starting at $3,030. Twenty of the units are designated as affordable housing, reserved for households earning up to 80% of the area median income. Those units range from $2,212 to $3,147 per month.
The building features 205 onsite parking spaces and high-end amenities such as a rooftop terrace, fitness center, lounge with billiards, and a lobby café. The apartments include in-unit washer/dryers, walk-in closets, and stainless steel appliances.
“It’s the heart of a beautiful, walkable village,” Breslin said. “It’s a different feel from other places on Long Island.”
The opening of The Langdon is part of a broader effort to increase transit-oriented housing on Long Island, and local business owners are hopeful it will bring an economic boost to the area.
“I think it’s great for the area, and it’s practically a one minute walk away, which hopefully will help our businesses and others,” said Tom McNicholas, co-owner of Craft Kitchen and Taphouse, located just one block away on Stauderman Avenue.
Nicole Carusone, co-operator of Vincent’s Pizza at 14 Atlantic Ave., echoed the optimism.
“I hope it will bring in new customers, and be beneficial to the village,” said Carusone, whose family has operated the pizzeria in Lynbrook since 1978.
Polly Talbott, executive director of the Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce, said the development represents a new chapter for the downtown area.
“It’s great for our businesses, and right in the heart of Lynbrook,” Talbott said.
As The Langdon welcomes its first tenants, many in the village see it not only as a revitalization of a once-neglected site, but as a symbol of Lynbrook’s resilience, past and future intertwined on a single city block.
The leasing office is open daily, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekends from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and can be reached at 516-775-0001.
