FIRST UNION REAL ESTATE EQUITY AND MORTGAGE INVESTMENTS

AT THE COMPANY
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Carolyn Tiffany
Chief Operating Officer
(617) 570-4614

         FIRST UNION REAL ESTATE EQUITY AND MORTGAGE INVESTMENTS' LEGAL
                ACTION FORCES SIZELER TO SET ANNUAL MEETING DATE

      Boston, Massachusetts- April 28, 2005- Responding to Sizeler Property
Investors, Inc.'s (NYSE:SIZ) filing earlier this week announcing that the 2005
Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held on September 29, 2005 or within 30
days thereafter, Michael L. Ashner, Chairman of First Union Real Estate Equity
and Mortgage Investments (NYSE:FUR), stated "we are pleased that as a result of
our legal actions Sizeler has finally set a time frame within which it will hold
its annual meeting. We, however, are disappointed that Sizeler's board has again
sought to continue its entrenchment endeavors by delaying the meeting until the
fall, a full five months after it has historically held its annual meeting and
more than two months after every New York Stock Exchange listed real estate
investment trust will have held their 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders." Mr.
Ashner further observed that "it appears the citizens of Lebanon were able to
obtain a free election more expeditiously than the shareholders of Sizeler."

      First Union Real Estate Equity and Mortgage Investments is a NYSE-listed
real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

      First Union Real Estate Equity and Mortgage Investments has filed with the
SEC a preliminary proxy statement with respect to its solicitation of proxies to
elect Michael L. Ashner, Peter Braverman and Steven Zalkind as directors at
Sizeler's 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. INVESTORS ARE URGED TO READ THE
DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT
DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
You will be able to obtain the documents free of charge at the SEC's website,
www.sec.gov. First Union and Messrs. Ashner, Braverman and Zalkind may be deemed
to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of
Sizeler in connection with the annual meeting. Information about these
participants is set forth in the preliminary proxy statement filed by First
Union with the SEC. Investors may obtain additional information regarding the
interests of such participants by reading the definitive proxy statement when it
becomes available.