Ganesh Temple, Flushing (New York): hours, dress code, canteen, parking and pooja services
The Ganesh Temple at 45-57 Bowne Street, Flushing, is open 8:00 am to 8:30 pm on weekdays and 7:30 am to 8:30 pm at weekends, with a canteen open daily from 8:30 am. Here is what the temple's own pages say about dress, phones, parking, the daily pooja schedule and booking a service.
About 9 min read
Checked by an AI-assisted fact-check on 18 October 2026. Human review by Abhishek Kumar: pending.
What are the Ganesh Temple's hours in Flushing, and what should you know before you go? The temple, formally the Sri Maha Vallabha Ganapati Devasthanam of the Hindu Temple Society of North America, stands at 45-57 Bowne Street, Flushing, NY 11355, at the corner of Holly Avenue. Its website gives the hours as 8:00 am to 8:30 pm Monday to Friday and 7:30 am to 8:30 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. The canteen is open daily from 8:30 am to 8:30 pm. Inside the main hall, phones and cameras are not allowed, and the temple asks for clothes that cover the knee. Everything below comes from the temple's own website (checked 18 Oct 2026). The temple says timings can change at the management's discretion, so check its timings page or call (718) 460-8484 ext. 112 before a special trip.
Before you go: a quick checklist
- Clothes: no shorts, no skirts above the knee, no ripped jeans. If you forget, the temple will give you a dhoti or covering garment for $5.
- Phone: switch it off or leave it in your pocket. No photos, video, phones or laptops in the Maha Mantapam (the main prayer hall).
- Feeling unwell? The temple asks people with a fever, cold or flu symptoms, or a recent respiratory-virus exposure, to stay away from the temple, canteen and community centre. Masks are recommended.
- Offerings: milk, fruit, flowers and honey are accepted in baskets at each shrine. Home-cooked or outside food cannot be handed out anywhere on the premises.
- Parking: the free lot behind the temple fills up. Have a plan B (see below).
Temple hours and the daily pooja schedule
| Hours (checked 18 Oct 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | 8:00 am to 8:30 pm |
| Saturday and Sunday | 7:30 am to 8:30 pm |
| Canteen, every day | 8:30 am to 8:30 pm |
The temple's daily schedule, as published on its pooja schedule page:
| Time | Service |
|---|---|
| 8:00 am (7:30 am at weekends) | Maha Ganapati Suprabhatam and Usha Kala Pooja (the dawn worship) |
| 8:15 am | Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatam; Shiva Abhishekam and Maha Ganapati Homam |
| 9:00 am (11:00 am on Sundays) | Maha Ganapati Abhishekam, the ritual bathing of the main deity |
| 10:00 am and 5:00 pm | Veda Parayanam (Vedic chanting) |
| 6:00 pm | Parivara Pooja |
| 7:30 pm | Sarva Devata Mangala Harati, the evening aarti for all the deities |
| 8:40 pm | Ardha Yama Pooja, the closing worship |
If you can only come once, the 7:30 pm harati is a good choice: it is the one evening service offered to all the deities together, and the temple also streams it live every day.
The temple also runs a weekly cycle. A few examples from its page: Shiva Abhishekam on Monday evenings at 6:00 pm, Hanuman Abhishekam on Tuesdays at 9:00 am with the Hanuman Chalisa recited at 6:00 pm, Lakshmi worship on Fridays, Venkateswara Abhishekam on Saturdays at 11:00 am and Durga Abhishekam on Sundays at 4:30 pm. The page says schedules can change, including on festival days. For festival programmes, use the temple's events calendar rather than a third-party listing. ProperPandit does not publish festival dates while its own list is being re-checked; our daily Panchang shows the tithi and sunrise for your city.
Who is worshipped here
Sri Maha Vallabha Ganapati sits at the centre of the Maha Mantapam. Around the hall, the temple's deities page lists more than twenty shrines, including Venkateswara, Mahalakshmi, Shiva as the linga, Parvati, Durga, Saraswati, Hanuman, Dakshinamurthy, Shanmukha (Murugan) with Valli and Devasena, Gayatri, Kamakshi with the Maha Meru, the Navagrahas, Nagendra Swamy, Rama with his family, Krishna and Radha, Ayyappa, Satyanarayana and the saint Raghavendra Swamy. There is also a shrine to Devi Khodiyar Mata. So although people call it "the Ganesh Temple", visitors from many regional traditions will find a familiar deity here.
A short history
According to the temple's history page, the Hindu Temple Society of North America was incorporated in New York on 26 January 1970. It bought a site from a Russian Orthodox church that was no longer in use, and for some years priests performed the rituals in a small frame house there. The present building, designed according to the Agama Shastras (the traditional texts on temple building), was completed in early 1977 and consecrated on 4 July 1977, the same day as US Independence Day.
The temple describes itself as the first authentic Hindu temple in North America built with traditional granite stone imported from India. It also notes that Bowne Street is named after John Bowne, remembered for his stand on religious freedom, and that the temple has recently more than doubled in size. ProperPandit's guide to temple architecture styles explains what "Agamic" and South Indian design mean in practice.
Rules inside the main hall
These are the temple's own guidelines (checked 18 Oct 2026):
- Wash your hands and feet first. There is a washing area in the temple basement.
- Do not touch the deities or the shrine walls. The temple goes further and advises devotees not to touch anything with their hands.
- Keep silent. Chanting or singing by anyone other than the temple priests is not allowed in the Maha Mantapam, and the temple asks devotees not to socialise inside.
- No photos, video, phones or laptops in the Maha Mantapam, and no charging any device from the temple's power outlets anywhere on the premises.
- Offerings go in the baskets. Milk, fruit, flowers and honey are accepted at each shrine, and the priests decide how they are used.
- Vibhuti and kumkum prasadam are available on request at the counter.
The no-singing rule may surprise you if your home temple encourages everyone to sing along. Here, pray silently instead.
The canteen
The canteen is the other reason people make the trip. The temple says it started in the temple basement in 1993 and moved to its present spot in the community centre in 1998. The canteen's own site adds that it began by preparing naivedyam, the food offered to the deities, and gives its address as 143-09 Holly Avenue. The food is South Indian vegetarian: idli, dosa, pongal, upma, sambar and chutney are the dishes the temple names.
- Dine-in: daily, 8:30 am to 8:30 pm.
- Takeout: contact the canteen for current arrangements.
- Delivery: through Uber Eats, from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm, subject to availability.
Getting there and parking
By subway or train. Take the 7 train to its last stop, Flushing-Main Street. Long Island Rail Road trains on the Port Washington line also stop at Flushing-Main Street. From there the temple suggests the Q17 or Q25 bus to Kissena Boulevard and Holly Avenue, then a walk of two short blocks. The Q26 and Q27 to Parsons Boulevard and Elm Avenue are another option, about a six-to-seven-minute walk from the stop.
By car. From Manhattan or Long Island, the temple's directions use Exit 24 (Kissena Boulevard) on the Long Island Expressway (I-495), then Holly Avenue to Bowne Street.
Parking. The temple's own lot is behind the temple on Smart Street, opposite the community centre. It is free but limited, first come, first served. Street parking is available around the temple. The temple also points to a paid garage a block away next to Flushing Hospital on 45th Avenue (entrance on Burling Street), where it says the fee is $7 per car if temple security validates your stub.
Booking a pooja or priest service
- Scheduled-day services (archana, abhishekam, sahasranama pooja, homam, Satyanarayana Pooja and more) can be sponsored online on the temple's booking page. Bookings made online must be confirmed with the temple counter at least 24 hours before the date. Prices are listed there and the temple says they can change.
- Non-scheduled-day services: call the counter.
- Outside services at your home: the temple's page says these are suspended until further notice, except for a list of virtual priest services: Punyahavachanam, Namakaranam (naming), Annaprashanam (first rice), Vidyarambham, Satyanarayana Pooja, monthly Amavasya Tarpanam, annual and monthly Shraddham, and last rites. Book these through the counter.
- Halls: the basement Kamakshi and Kubera halls and the Saraswati Hall across the street (45-52 Bowne Street) are rented for weddings and events, through the counter.
If you need a pandit to come to your home for a ritual the temple is not doing in person, ProperPandit arranges pandits over WhatsApp: tell us the ritual and your city on the booking page and we will say what can be arranged. Online live puja on ProperPandit is coming soon.
What first-timers don't expect
- The phone rule covers the whole hall. If you are used to temples where a quick photo of the deity is fine, note that the entire Maha Mantapam is phone-free here.
- Parking can decide your day. The free lot is limited and first come, first served, so on busy days it may be full. The 7 train plus a short bus ride avoids the question.
- Food from home stays home. You cannot hand out sweets or home-made prasad on the premises. If you want to offer food, sponsor a service, or bring milk, fruit, flowers or honey for the baskets.
- You can watch from home. The temple live-streams selected services on Facebook and YouTube (both under "nyganeshtemple"), including the daily 7:30 pm harati, according to its live telecast page.
- Beware of fake job offers. On 28 July 2026 the temple published a notice about a fake, AI-generated social media advert offering priest jobs and asking for registration and visa fees. The temple says it has no connection with the people behind it. Our guide to fake temple websites and how to spot official ones covers the warning signs.
Questions people ask
What are the Ganesh Temple Flushing hours today? 8:00 am to 8:30 pm Monday to Friday and 7:30 am to 8:30 pm on Saturday and Sunday, per the temple's site (checked 18 Oct 2026). Festival days can differ, so call ext. 112 if in doubt.
What are the canteen hours? Daily, 8:30 am to 8:30 pm for dine-in. Uber Eats delivery runs 8:30 am to 7:00 pm.
Is there parking at the Ganesh Temple in Flushing? Yes, a small free lot behind the temple on Smart Street, first come, first served, plus street parking and a nearby garage that charges $7 with a validated stub.
What is the address? 45-57 Bowne Street, Flushing, NY 11355, at Holly Avenue and Bowne Street in Queens.
Is there a live stream? Yes. The temple streams selected services on Facebook and YouTube under "nyganeshtemple". Its TV page lists the weekly schedule.
Is there a dress code? Yes. No shorts, skirts above the knee or ripped jeans. A covering garment is available for $5.
About this article: it is for general information only, researched from the public sources listed above. It may contain errors or leave out local customs, and it is not religious, medical, legal or financial advice. Practices vary by family, region and tradition, so please follow your family pandit's guidance. Spotted a mistake? Tell us on WhatsApp and we'll correct it.