Ganeinu Academy Dedicates New Three-Story Queens Campus With a Giant Mezuzah

Ganeinu Academy, a Jewish day school in Queens that is part of the Ohr Avner Chabad network in the United States, dedicated its new building on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in a ceremony held a few hours before Shabbat, according to reports by the Chabad news sites COL (Chabad Online) and Chabadinfo.

The highlight of the event was the installation of a large mezuzah at the school’s main entrance. Its final letters were written during the ceremony itself, and those present then joined in wishing the school success in educating Jewish children, the reports said.

Who was there

Guests were welcomed by the Rebbe’s emissaries to the Bukharian Jewish community, who direct Ohr Avner Chabad in the United States: Rabbi Zalman Zavulunov, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Wolowik and Rabbi Shmuel Kogan. They were joined by Rabbi Asher Vaknin and Rabbi Dovid Shushan, according to COL and Chabadinfo.

The philanthropist Lev Leviev, whom both outlets describe as the patron of the Ohr Avner institutions, attended with his wife, Olga. Also present were their daughter Hagit Sofiev-Leviev, president of the Ohr Avner institutions in the United States, and her husband, Gabriel, as well as their son-in-law Efraim Yelizrov, head of the religious council in Savyon, and other family members.

Israel’s consul in New York, Ofir Akunis, came with his wife. Rabbi Shalom Duchman, director of Colel Chabad, and Rabbi Yehuda Blau, director-general of Ohr Avner in Israel, also attended. U.S. Rep. Grace Meng and other elected officials from the area presented certificates of recognition to the school’s leadership, the reports said.

From a preschool to a three-story school

Ganeinu, Hebrew for “our garden,” began as a preschool in 2014 and added an elementary school in 2019 “based on community demand,” the school’s director, Rabbi Kogan, said in a Bukharian Times report published while the building was under construction. The school is on Utopia Parkway in Fresh Meadows, and the new building went up on the same site as the old one.

The Bukharian Times reported at the time that the three-story building, which broke ground in September 2024, would cover about 26,300 square feet and serve preschool through eighth grade. Planned features included a science lab, a makerspace, a library, a multimedia room, a full-size cafeteria and a full-size gymnasium, along with 18,800 square feet of outdoor play space. The school’s architect, Martin Hopp Architect, lists the project at about 26,000 square feet and describes Ganeinu’s Reggio-inspired, hands-on approach to learning.

This report was translated from Hebrew by Bukharian Jewish Post from coverage by COL (Chabad Online), and checked against Chabadinfo’s English report.

Sources: COL (Chabad Online), Oct. 18, 2026 (in Hebrew); Chabadinfo, “New Ganeinu Academy Campus Dedicated in Queens” (Oct. 19, 2026); The Bukharian Times, “If You Build It, They Will Come”; Martin Hopp Architect project page via Archello.