PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc. (NYSE: CDR) ("Cedar") is pleased to announce that Paul G. Kirk, Jr., an independent director of the Company from September 2005 through September 2009, has been re-elected to the Board of the Company effective as of June 1, becoming the Board's eighth member at that time.

Mr. Kirk resigned as a member of the Board of the Company in September 2009 to accept his appointment as U.S. Senator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until a special election was held to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Senator Kirk served as Chairman of the Democratic Party of the U.S. from 1985 to 1989. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and as co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Senator Kirk has also recently rejoined the Boards of Directors of the Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. and Rayonier Incorporated. He previously served on the Boards of ITT Corporation and Bradley Real Estate, Inc. (which later became a part of Heritage Property Investment Trust, Inc.)

A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Senator Kirk is past-Chairman of the Harvard Board of Overseers' Nominating Committee and of the Board of Overseers' Committee to Visit the Department of Athletics and is an Honorary member of the Harvard College Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He holds honorary Doctors of Law Degrees from Stonehill College and the Southern New England School of Law.

Leo Ullman, Cedar's CEO, stated, "We are thrilled and delighted that Senator Kirk has agreed to accept re-election to our Company's Board of Directors. Paul Kirk has always brought enormous capacity, ability, integrity and judgment to our Board from which we will once again greatly benefit during our meetings and deliberations in coming months and hopefully years."

About Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc.

Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc. is a fully-integrated real estate investment trust which focuses primarily on ownership, operation, development and redevelopment of "bread and butter"® supermarket-anchored shopping centers in coastal mid-Atlantic and New England states. The Company presently owns and operates (both wholly-owned and in joint venture) approximately 13 million square feet of GLA at 119 shopping center properties, of which more than 75% are anchored by supermarkets and/or drugstores with average remaining lease terms of approximately 11 years.

For additional financial and descriptive information on the Company, its operations and its portfolio, please refer to the Company's website at www.cedarshoppingcenters.com.

SOURCE Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc.