70 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JANUARY 2022
SYDNEY ENGEL
DETERMINED DEVELOPER
Sydney Engel, a highly regarded real
estate developer who made his mark
with dozens of properties on Long Island
died by the time he was 20 years old.
In the 1940s, he started an insulation
and construction company and gained
great respect in the industry, his family
members said. He built a reputation of
high-quality work ethics and results
that led him to jobs for famous, wealthy
families such as the Mellons and
Rockefellers.
At a service for Engel on Nov. 30 at
Pinelawn Memorial Park in Farmingdale,
family members remembered him
as never missing a holiday gathering,
family party, or event. He took the family
on vacations up until he was 95 years
old and worked until age 97, they said.
Notably, the businessman loved visiting
Jamaica, where he oversaw the building
of a nonprofi t hospital, MoBay Hope
Medical Centre, and owned a vacation
home.
Engel also helped found a charity,
Gold Ribbon Riders, which has raised
millions of dollars for pediatric
cancer care and research, after his
great-grandchild received a cancer diagnosis.
He was involved in the local
community, serving on the boards of
the Anti-Defamation League, Temple
Israel in Lawrence, and others.
2022
and the metro area, died on Nov.
The Hewlett Harbor resident founded
Engel Burman, a prominent real estate
firm focused on senior housing, at
age 74. Engel Burman developed The
Bristal Assisted Living buildings and
The Seasons condominium complexes
for seniors on Long Island. Those who
knew Engel describe him as both a
fi erce go-getter and a generous soul.
“He was a man of boundless energy,
unrelenting determination, and a
person who never asked anyone to do
something he wouldn’t have already
done,” said Engel’s son-in-law, Michael
Weiss, a partner at Engel Burman. “He
was a wonderful man.”
Engel was born in 1923 and raised in a
poor family in Brooklyn. His parents
Engel was married to Sylvia Engel, who died
about five years ago. They are survived by
their children, Robin Rudolph, Cathy Weiss,
and Dr. Lewis Engel, as well as eight grandchildren
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27, 2021. He was 98 years old.
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and seven great-grandchildren.
-BB
OBITUARY
Sydney Engel (Courtesy Engel Family)
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