Queens has new DOB commish

As a child growing up in Brooklyn, Ira Gluckman was fascinated with construction sites.

His Canarsie neighborhood was full of them.

"As soon as I learned the word 'architect,' I knew that was what I wanted to do," said Gluckman, 53, who was recently named Queens borough commissioner for the Department of Buildings.

Gluckman has spent the past few years as borough commissioner in Staten Island.

He's still figuring out the lay of the land in Queens, but he thinks his experiences as an architect and construction inspector will serve him well in the city's largest borough.

New Buildings Dept. borough boss constructed career

...the agency is expected to become even busier as residential towers rise in western Queens and multi-unit housing spreads throughout the borough.

Some Queens residents have complained that the building boom is changing the character of neighborhoods once known for suburban streets of one- and two-family homes.