This Flushing health care professional has been serving Queens for three decades — and there’s no end in sight.
Dr. David Orenstein, a licensed optometrist, has served the community from his space at 36-03 162nd St. since July of 1987. The longtime Queens resident said the storefront, located just off Northern Boulevard, has been used as a doctor’s office since the 1940s.
Orenstein attributes “perseverance and patience” to his ongoing success.
“You go to another place, it’s strictly business, selling,” the doctor said. “We know our patients by name, their families … We have patients from all over. They move, but they come back.”
The optometrist was proud to share that he has served four generations of the same family. Eileen Pfuhler, whose late mother Enez Facchin suffered from macular degeneration, noticed Orenstein’s “Low Vision” sign in the window in 1987. She was one of the optometrist’s first patients.
“When my mother found out she had this problem with her eyes, she was very depressed,” Pfuhler said. “We came in, and from that day on, my family hasn’t left. He was compassionate with my mother and very understanding. He gave her such a lift. You don’t find that anymore when you go to doctors; you’re a number. You’re not a number here.”
Today, Orenstein also treats Pfuhler’s two children and two grandchildren.
“We’d never go to any other place,” she continued.
The medical professional has also been a member of the Flushing Rotary for as long as he has operated the business. Through the community group, which was established in 1953, Orenstein has been involved with a number of charitable initiatives, including work for the international Gift of Life organization and local veterans at the St. Albans Community Living Center. The group also awards scholarships to local high school students who have shown the most improvement in their academics.
Patients can make appointments for eye exams and low vision work and purchase eyeglasses and contacts at Orenstein’s practice. His office can be reached at 718-353-1220.
