{"id":71230,"date":"2025-12-15T16:56:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T16:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/71230\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T16:56:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T16:56:07","slug":"focus-on-the-great-neck-peninsula-the-irrepressible-edna-mashaal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/71230\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus on the Great Neck Peninsula: The irrepressible Edna Mashaal"},"content":{"rendered":"

For this week\u2019s Focus, I recently sat with longtime Great Neck resident and business owner, Edna Mashaal. She, with the dancing hazel eyes and signature laugh. \u00a0Step inside, into the world of Edna Mashaal.<\/p>\n

The name Mashaal means \u201ctorch,\u201d \u201cflame,\u201d or \u201cfirebrand\u201d in Arabic. It symbolizes light, radiance, and the ability to illuminate darkness. Quite apropos, given the Hanukkah and holiday season upon us.\u00a0 Be the light!<\/p>\n

Mashaal can also represent enthusiasm, energy, and the desire to bring positive change. Quite fitting, if you know Edna. \u00a0It is apt to say that Edna Mashaal is living and loving the American Dream. As an immigrant, she is emblematic of the countless other success stories in our town.<\/p>\n

Educated at American schools in Iran, Japan and Israel, Edna secured a scholarship at Tel Aviv University and was preparing to complete her studies there. But fate had different plans for our Edna. After crossing continents for a \u201cquick stop\u201d in New York City before starting university to celebrate a family wedding.<\/p>\n

So yeah, Edna didn\u2019t return to Israel. She started her prolific life as a wife, businesswoman and mompreneur \u2013 in a New York State of mind. A Great Neck resident since the seventies, suffice it to say, Edna and her husband, Ezra have thrived here. They have four successful sons and 10 beautiful grandchildren.<\/p>\n

Edna herself is a chameleon. She retains an Old World sensibility, but her vibe screams modernity. In her storytelling, her charisma and energy seem almost boundless. Many of her anecdotes did not make it to this page, her riveting tales were peppered with- (\u201cDon\u2019t write that!\u201d).<\/p>\n

Like Edna, I live in gratitude, love my town, and believe our people are good, diverse and eclectic. Great Neckers understand tradition, good value and appreciate education.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe schools, parks, NYC commute, and diversity are beyond compare,\u201d and a major selling point to visitors who are house shopping. If you ask her, Edna believes Great Neck \u201cstill\u201d has it all.<\/p>\n

A Star Career is Born<\/p>\n

Edna\u2019s first career was in Manhattan\u2019s garment center, commuting to Seventh Avenue by LIRR. As a retailer and subsequent manufacturer, she came to own and operate a few women\u2019s dress boutiques, with Ezra\u2019s full support.<\/p>\n

Plot twist- she later ran into Jesse Kahn, a friend of Robert \u201cBob\u201d Freedman, an O.G. real estate broker in Great Neck. With his encouragement to get her real estate salesperson license, Edna found her calling.<\/p>\n

She negotiated with Ezra, who was not a fan of the idea, in a signature Edna compromise,<\/p>\n

\u201cI made a deal with him, he couldn\u2019t refuse,\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n

Leaving her garment days behind her, Edna never looked back. After a running start with Bob, she joined Trylon Realty under the tutelage of Sandy Rosen and there had a 20-year run.<\/p>\n

Then, in 2002, she launched Edna Mashaal Realty, first from her car and then from a \u201cstarter\u201d office. Edna finally established roots at her current headquarters, in the heart of Great Neck Plaza. You know the mantra: location, location, location.<\/p>\n

I asked her the usual \u201csimple\u201d question regularly asked of successful working women from seemingly traditional communities \u2026 How do you do it?<\/p>\n

Edna\u2019s Superpower(s) <\/p>\n

What is Edna\u2019s secret?<\/p>\n

Edna believes that her general work ethic and optimism fuel her success. But anyone seeing Edna in action knows, its way more than that \u2014 she builds connections and has a real passion for her work. Edna is not just listing and selling houses and \u201c\u2026showing results.\u201d She is creating community.<\/p>\n

Clients become friends, friends become neighbors, and before you know it, Edna has linked another family to Great Neck\u2019s rich, diverse tapestry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly love what I do and my enthusiasm shows,\u201d Edna said. \u201cMy agents and I love coming to the office\u2014it\u2019s my country club!\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, walk into her Middle Neck Road office, and you\u2019ll hear the banter, the laughter, all attested to by broker Nazy Ben Yehuda, who has been with Edna from the early days.<\/p>\n

I asked Edna, what is your favorite type of client- and her answer came fast.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone who appreciates our services,\u201d she said. It is clear that there are legions of satisfied homeowners, then, who appreciate Edna. All the referrals to her office speak volumes and she generously shares leads with her office mates. \u201cIt\u2019s my country club, and theirs, too!\u201d<\/p>\n

Numbers Don\u2019t Lie<\/p>\n

Great Neck boasts many realtor franchises, and they thrive for good reasons.<\/p>\n

Being an outlier, however, and doing well is no easy feat. Today, Edna Mashaal has become one of the most recognizable names in Great Neck and Nassau County real estate. Her eponymous real estate brokerage, Edna Mashaal Realty, founded in 2002, is proudly independent, in a landscape increasingly dominated by national chains.<\/p>\n

Moreover, she consistently leads in sales volume and units sold.\u00a0 Edna Mashaal is ranked the #1 residential real estate broker in Great Neck for 2025, with her firm, Edna Mashaal Realty, holding the top market share for listings and closed sales in the area, according to Zillow.<\/p>\n

According to MLS data, Edna ranks No. 1 in sales and listings among Great Neck offices, and even tops Nassau County for pending sales, despite her boutique brokerage status. Edna has received many accolades and was honored as A Top Business Leader of Nassau County.\u00a0 \u00a0In 2025, she was recognized as one of Long Island\u2019s top business influencers.<\/p>\n

She seems to be capable of doing it all, but nope, \u201cI don\u2019t cook,\u201d Edna said with a wink. \u00a0At least, not in the kitchen. Her real estate career is smoke show hot!<\/p>\n

Giving Back, Paying it Forward<\/p>\n

Beyond her business empire, Edna is a familiar face around town and gives generously. She loves Great Neck, she means it, and she puts her money where her mouth is. Edna was one of Destination: Great Neck\u2019s original sponsors back in 2021.<\/p>\n

She supports Great Neck Plaza\u2019s annual summer concert series at Firefighters Park every season. She regularly contributes to the Great Neck Student Aid Fund. She supports the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce. \u201cShop local. Support our town! she proclaimed.<\/p>\n

As local as a local can be, Edna truly gets it. All while laughing all the way\u2026 to the next open house.<\/p>\n

Do Tell <\/p>\n

In this column, I regularly ask residents what is missing in our town, given the current retail mix:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need more places like Bruce\u2019s Bakery\u2014an old school hangout, with takeout, where people can gather, talk, and connect,\u201d Edna said. Yes! But try as I might, I could not sway her to launch an after-hours dessert parlor in town (something I believe would do well!), how about you? Odds are, if and when it happens, Edna Mashaal will be the procuring broker. She is ready, willing and able.<\/p>\n

\"JanetJanet Nina Esagoff Janet\u00a0Nina Esagoff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For this week\u2019s Focus, I recently sat with longtime Great Neck resident and business owner, Edna Mashaal. She,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":71231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[36399,12628,9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-71230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-edna-mashaal","tag-janet-nina-esagoff","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}