Westfield Sunrise

Westfield Sunrise –

Westfield Sunrise, formerly known as Sunrise Mall, is a shopping mall located in East Massapequa, New York. The mall originally opened on August 30, 1973 as the first 2-level shopping center on Long Island. It later underwent a major remodel in 1991 and it was acquired by The Westfield Group in 2005. The main anchor tenants include Macy*s, Sears, JCPenney, and Walmart. If you enter the mall from the west side parking lot, you are on the second floor of the mall. Interestingly, if you enter on the east side, you are on the first floor.Some stores that have been in Westfield Sunrise (but are not longer there) include Orange Julius, Abraham & Straus, Stern's, Woolworth's, Korvette's, Record World, Home Decor (a store which sold mostly rock t-shirts and posters), Playworld, the Sunrise Mall Cinemas, Eddie Bauer, Sam Goody, Jean Country (known for being where Amy Fisher worked), Old Navy, and Steve & Barry's. There also used to be a pet store at Westfield Sunrise that featured a foul-mouthed parrot by the store's entrance.In the 1970s, fish aquariums were featured in the mall. Pictures are featured here. And for many years, Westfield Sunrise featured indoor water fountains and also duck ponds. Both have since been replaced by children's play areas and Koi fish ponds, respectively. There was quite a bit of fun to be had by youngsters in the mall during the decade, as evidenced by an appearance of men dressed as Spider-Man and Micronauts at Korvettes. Vintage pix are featured here.During the '80s, the mall continued to thrive, as there was a magic store in the mall circa the '80s, that sold fake feces, a Conehead Halloween mask, pet rock, garlic gum, and snap snot, among other goodies. In the summer of 1984, one of the arcade video games featured in the Sunrise Mall Cinemas was Dragon's Lair. On Saturday, August 4, 1984, more than 6,000 people were forced to leave Westfield Sunrise after a power failure cut off lights and air-conditioning to its shops and walkways. The blackout occurred at 2:30 P.M. In July 1986, 110 men and women competed for what was billed as the 'Arm-Wrestling Championship of New York State' at Westfield Sunrise .While the mall fell on rough times come the '90s, Westfield Sunrise experienced a renaissance come the dawn of the 21st century. On February 18, 2001, a benefit for 2ge+her's Michael Cuccione was held at Westfield Sunrise . Little more than a year later on Friday, June 7, 2002, a 'Sunrise Mall Cruise Night' was hosted at Westfield Sunrise. According to this article, there were several hundred cars there. Additionally, in 2002 or 2003, a food court was placed in the mall near Sears, and a new glass elevator was placed near the food court for easier access. It was removed and replaced with another elevator (not glass) because the koi pond had to be moved down for a play area. Also, several WWE wrestlers have signed autographs at Westfield Sunrise, including Stone Cold Steve Austin, Paul Wight (aka 'The Big Show'), and John Cena (a report about the Cena signing can be viewed here), among others.The mall experienced some criticism on Monday, December 18, 2006, when the Massapequa Schools Talent Showcase was held at Westfield Sunrise. According to this article, it was a 'big flop.' And on a more serious note, on Thursday, June 7, 2007, a 19 year old man went haywire and drove through the mall with his 1995 Toyota, causing over $60,000 worth of damage . Upon further research, it was discovered that this was five years to the day that the 2002 'Sunrise Mall Cruise Night' was hosted at Westfield Sunrise! On Christmas Eve, 2007, two anonymous gentlemen handed out $100 bills to pleasantly surprised shoppers .