{"id":270038,"date":"2026-06-17T21:11:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/270038\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T21:11:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:11:12","slug":"astoria-synagogue-celebrates-100-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/270038\/","title":{"rendered":"Astoria Synagogue Celebrates 100 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"(L.<\/a><\/p>\n

(L. to r.): Rabbi Joshua Rabin, State Senator Krysten Gonzalez, Event Chair Elysa Blumenthal.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, June 14, the Astoria Center of Is\u00adrael (ACI) held their centennial celebration, A Sweet Centennial: 100 Years of Light, Learning and Legacy, marking 100 years of fostering Jewish communal life in Astoria. The synagogue, which is located at 27-35 Crescent Street in Astoria, hosted a program in the historic main sanctuary, followed by a reception in the social hall. Speakers included ACI\u2019s Rabbi Joshua Rabin, New York State Senator Krysten Gonzalez, New York State Representative Diana Moreno, Chief FDNY Chap\u00adlain Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, and New York State Assembly Member David Weprin.<\/p>\n

Janet Abrams-Piechota, ACI President, said: \u201cWhat I treasure most about our congregation is perhaps best captured in our motto: Judaism with Open Arms. ACI is a community that makes room for everyone, including interfaith couples, the LGBTQ+ community, young fami\u00adlies, longtime members, skeptics, seekers, and the deeply devoted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is anything I have learned during the past few months of research into ACI\u2019s past, it is that the responsibility of sustaining this magnificent building and its mission always falls to those who step for\u00adward,\u201d said Elysa Blumenthal, Event Chair. \u201cJust as the founders of this synagogue stepped forward to bring forth a means to expand Judaism for their children, so too we must step forward to keep the mission alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rabbi<\/a><\/p>\n

Rabbi Joshua Rabin.<\/p>\n

Astoria Center of Israel was built to serve the needs of a growing As\u00adtoria <\/p>\n

Jewish community in the 1920s. The building was designed by architect Louis Allen Abramson and completed in 1926. The synagogue\u2019s interior decoration includes a series of 1929 murals by French artist Louis Rigal. The style is typical of 1920s American synagogues, com\u00adbining classical detailing with Judaic symbols and stained-glass windows. Notable past rabbis include Rabbi Alvin Kass, who was the rabbi of ACI from 1964 to 1978 and later went on to serve as chief chaplain of the New York City Police Depart\u00adment. ACI is designated as a Historic Religious Site on the National and State Registers.<\/p>\n

For the last century, ACI has con\u00adtinuously served as a synagogue. Today, ACI is once again in a phase of rapid growth. The synagogue also hosts a Hebrew School. The syna\u00adgogue, which is the only egalitarian Conservative synagogue in Western Queens, proudly promotes a philos\u00adophy of \u201cJudaism with Open Arms,\u201d a phrase that represents the syna\u00adgogue\u2019s spirit of joyful inclusivity. The synagogue hosts weekly Shab\u00adbat services, as well as programming for children and families, adult edu\u00adcation, and holiday celebrations both at the Center and around the neigh\u00adborhood. The Center also hosts com\u00admunity events, such as food drives, blood drives, and CPR training. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(L. to r.): Rabbi Joshua Rabin, State Senator Krysten Gonzalez, Event Chair Elysa Blumenthal. On Sunday, June 14,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270039,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-270038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}