Queens Hillel Opens Jamaica Student Hub Serving More Than 1,000 Bukharian Collegians

Queens Hillel has opened a new off-campus student hub at 80-15 188th Street in Jamaica, giving Jewish college students across the borough, including a large Bukharian contingent, a dedicated place to gather, The Bukharian Times and Queens Hillel reported.

The center, called Queens Hillel 188th, is supported by $195,000 in state funding allocated by Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D, WF-Fresh Meadows). The money will expand Jewish student services and programming, including staffing at the hub and the addition of a mental health social worker. Assemblyman Sam Berger wrote on LinkedIn in late September that he presented the $195,000 check at the hub’s Chanukat Habayit celebration.

The hub is designed to serve students from St. John’s University, Queens College and Queensborough Community College, and is open to Jewish students from other campuses in Queens. According to the report, Queens Hillel reaches an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 Jewish students at those three schools, including more than 1,000 Bukharian students. It describes its population as one of the most diverse Jewish student bodies in the country, including Sephardic, Mizrahi, Bukharian and Persian students.

“Queens is one of the most diverse places in the world, and our college students deserve spaces where they can celebrate their identity, build community, and know that they are supported,” Rozic said at the ribbon cutting.

Executive director Jenna Citron Schwab said the support will help Hillel provide “holistic support including mental health services, career guidance, and joy-filled Jewish life experiences.” Queens College Interim President Betsy Hendrey and Queensborough President Christine Mangino also welcomed the opening.

The report listed other recent Rozic allocations in the area: $250,000 for the Queens Public Library’s Hillcrest branch, $25,000 for Tomchei Shabbos of Queens, $125,000 for a new Queens Holocaust Memorial at Borough Hall, $350,000 for Chevra Hatzalah and $30,000 for a STEM lab at Queens Hebrew Academy.

Sources: Queens Hillel; The Bukharian Times; Assemblyman Sam Berger (LinkedIn).