The Block at the Source

**The Block at the Source** is a planned mixed-use development center located in East Garden City, New York, on Old Country Road and Merchants Concourse (Ellison Avenue), currently managed and owned by Lesso Mall Development Long Island Inc. The center is being built inside the mostly dead Mall At The Source, which was named for its former anchor store Fortunoff (which used the phrase "The Source" in advertising), which the mall was built around and which closed in 2012.

## History

### Proposal and construction (1964–1997)

The site of The Mall at the Source was originally Roosevelt Field airport, with Charles Lindbergh taking off on his epic trans-Atlantic flight near the site of the mall's parking garage. Roosevelt Raceway bought the property when it expanded the harness-racing track in the 1940s for additional parking. In the early 1960s, Ohrbach's constructed a department store on leased land at north-east corner of the raceway's property. Fortunoff built its store several years later in 1964, as they followed their customers east from the original Fortunoff location in Brooklyn. Alan Fortunoff bought the entire property north of the current boundary of Transverse Drive from Roosevelt Raceway in the early 1980s.

In the late 1980s, Alan Fortunoff planned to construct the Long Island Galleria shopping mall, one comparable to the size of the massive Roosevelt Field Mall a few miles away but with different stores. It was to be built by the Westfield Group and include Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom as anchor stores. Community pressure over congestion concerns forced Fortunoff to scale back the size and scope of the mall. Roughly half of the property was sold to Price Club (now Costco), which developed their portion to include a Kmart (now Walmart). The mall was instead built by Mills Corporation, and they continue to manage and co-own the mall.

### The Mall At The Source (1997–2011)

The mall was also the first on Long Island to house clothing chains H&M, Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, and Saks Off 5th. It was also the first to house restaurants including The Cheesecake Factory, Dave & Buster's, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, and Rainforest Cafe (closed on October 19, 2000). The Mall at The Source is also adjacent to many other shopping complexes and restaurants.

## Layout

The Mall at the Source had two floors and is shaped like an L. Because of this, the mall had separate "courts", named after the stores that anchor it (except for Center Court). Each anchor store had its own public entrance but not all have mall entrances; these stores tend to stay open later than the interior stores.

### Center Court

The Center Court is the main entrance and includes a carousel and train. Some of the stores in the Center Court include P. F. Chang's China Bistro and the Lord & Taylor Outlet (now known as Find @ Lord & Taylor). The center court is also where Steve and Barry's is; below it is an At Home. Nordstrom Rack, Old Navy are also tenants.

### Off 5th Saks Court

The Off 5th Saks court is the upper tip of the L, a long hall that includes the Food Court and the Saks Off 5th. The 1st floor has a Dave & Buster's, and also contains a Circuit City/Carmax combo.

### VIA Court

Like the Off 5th Saks Court, the VIA Court is a long hall, ending with the former Fortunoff (now VIAport | The Soure). It also has the 2nd-floor entrance to Ayhan's Shish Kebab and The Cheesecake Factory. The court also contains Gymboree Play & Music, Famous Footwear, Golf Galaxy, and Men's Wearhouse.

## See also

* The Block at the Source/Tenant List

**Shopping Malls**
*The Block*: The Block at Orange | **The Block at the Source** | Broadway at the Beach - The Block
*The Dreams*: Madrid Xanadu | Meadowlands Xanadu | Desti**ny** USA

**Landmark Entertainment**
*Landmark Retailing*: Nickelodeon Store | Paramount Store | Club Libby Lu
*Former Ventures*: NFL GridIron Grill