Where do Bukharian Jews live in Queens?

The Bukharian Jewish community is concentrated in Forest Hills and Rego Park, Queens, with 108th Street, known as 'Bukharian Broadway,' serving as its commercial and cultural center.

Where did Bukharian Jews originally come from?

Bukharian Jews trace their roots to the historic Silk Road region of Bukhara, spanning parts of present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, where Jewish communities lived for centuries before large-scale emigration in the late twentieth century.

When did Bukharian Jews immigrate to New York?

Immigration began slowly in the early 1970s due to Soviet-era antisemitism, then accelerated through the 1980s and especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

What is 'Bukharian Broadway'?

It's the community's nickname for 108th Street between 63rd and 65th Avenues in Forest Hills, home to Bukharian-owned markets, restaurants, and shops.

What organizations serve the Bukharian Jewish community?

Key institutions include the Beth Gavriel Bukharian Jewish Center and the Congress of Bukharian Jews of the USA and Canada, both based in Forest Hills, which support religious, cultural, and integration programming.

Bukharian Jewish Community of Queens: A Local Guide

Quick answer: The Bukharian Jewish community — originally from the historic region of Bukhara in Central Asia, spanning today’s Uzbekistan and Tajikistan — is concentrated in the Forest Hills and Rego Park sections of Queens, New York. The community’s commercial and cultural heart is 108th Street, often called “Bukharian Broadway,” lined with kosher markets, restaurants, and synagogues.

From the Silk Road to Queens

Bukharian Jews trace their history to the ancient Silk Road cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, in what is now Uzbekistan, where Jewish communities lived for centuries under Persian, and later Russian and Soviet, rule. Immigration to New York began slowly in the early 1970s, as antisemitism and restrictions on religious life in the Soviet Union pushed families to seek resettlement in the West. The pace accelerated through the 1980s and again after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, when emigration became far more accessible.

Resettlement agencies such as NYANA (the New York Association for New Americans), which helped place well over 250,000 Jewish refugees from the former Soviet Union, played a key role in directing Bukharian families toward Forest Hills and Rego Park — neighborhoods that already had aging Jewish populations and available housing.

Forest Hills and Rego Park Today

Forest Hills and Rego Park now form the largest Bukharian Jewish community outside of Israel and Central Asia, with community estimates commonly placing tens of thousands of Bukharian Jews across the two neighborhoods. The commercial spine of the community is 108th Street, particularly the stretch between 63rd and 65th Avenues, nicknamed “Bukharian Broadway.” It remains lined with Bukharian-owned meat markets, produce stands, restaurants, and shops, where Russian and Bukhori are heard as often as English.

Families exploring a move to this corridor can browse homes for sale or apartment rentals near 108th Street and the surrounding synagogue network, and HeimishMart’s Community Explorer can help map out the neighborhood before you visit in person.

Community Institutions

The Beth Gavriel Bukharian Jewish Center, at 66-35 108th Street, is one of the community’s central gathering places, hosting religious services alongside cultural and educational programming. The Congress of Bukharian Jews of the USA and Canada, headquartered in Forest Hills, has worked since its founding congress in 1999 to help new arrivals integrate, coordinate community-wide programs, and preserve Bukharian Jewish heritage across generations. The Bukharian Jewish Community Center also houses the offices of the Bukharian Times, a community newspaper that keeps residents connected to news in both English and Russian.

Numerous smaller synagogues, day schools, and yeshivas are scattered throughout the neighborhood, most following Bukharian Sephardic customs and melodies distinct from both Ashkenazi and other Sephardic traditions. The Bukharian Jewish Community Center, founded in 1965 to celebrate Bukharian heritage and spirituality, remains one of the community’s oldest institutions, offering prayer services, holiday celebrations, and Hebrew school programming. Education is a strong communal priority as well: Beth Gavriel’s affiliated school, Yeshiva Sha’arei Zion, has grown to serve several hundred students and is recognized as the only Sephardic yeshiva of its kind in Queens, with separate boys’ and girls’ divisions supporting the next generation of Bukharian Jewish families.

Food, Language, and Everyday Culture

Bukharian cuisine reflects its Central Asian roots — plov (a rice pilaf with meat and carrots), samsa (baked meat pastries), and non (Bukharian bread) are staples at family tables and communal celebrations alike. Many older community members still speak Bukhori, a Judeo-Tajik dialect, alongside Russian and English, and multigenerational households are common, with grandparents often playing an active role in raising children and maintaining tradition. Younger generations increasingly grow up trilingual, moving comfortably between Bukhori spoken at home, Russian used with grandparents and older neighbors, and English at school and work — a layered identity that keeps the community’s Central Asian roots visible even decades after resettlement.

Community life extends well beyond religious observance into weddings, engagement parties, and holiday gatherings that can draw hundreds of guests — a reflection of how tightly extended families remain connected. Anyone looking to see what’s happening locally can check upcoming Jewish events, and those wanting to give or receive support can browse chessed listings serving the Bukharian community.

Family Life and Celebration

Bukharian Jewish family life tends to be markedly multigenerational, with grandparents, parents, and children often living within the same building or a short walk of one another. Weddings and engagement parties are frequently large, colorful affairs, drawing on musical and culinary traditions carried over from Central Asia, and it is common for such celebrations to bring together several hundred guests from across the extended family network. That same emphasis on togetherness carries into religious life, where holidays and Shabbat meals routinely stretch across multiple households.

The Congress of Bukharian Jews of the USA and Canada has also worked to document and share this heritage more broadly, organizing cultural walking tours of the neighborhood and public programming aimed at both younger community members and outside visitors curious about Bukharian history and customs.

Work and Business in the Community

Bukharian Jewish families in Queens are well represented in real estate, import-export, jewelry, and food service, often through family-run businesses passed down across generations. Job seekers and local employers can connect through local job listings, and anyone with a home, rental, or service to offer the community can post it directly via Add a Listing.

By the HeimishMart Community Desk — HeimishMart is the community marketplace for Jewish homes, jobs, and local life across North America.