Isaac Hager is an American

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...

who founded the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based Cornell Realty Management.

Biography

Isaac "Itzy" Hager was born in the 1970s and belongs to the Vizhnitz Hasidic Jewish community based in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...

. The grandson of Rabbi Mordechai Hager, he was raised in the small

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Kaser, New York Kaser (from ) is a village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. The village is completely surrounded by the hamlet of Monsey. As of the 2020 United States census, the village population was 5,491. Kaser is a vil ...

founded by his grandfather. In the 1990s, he moved to Willamsburg, where he worked for a packaging equipment company before partnering with diamond trader and real estate developer, Chaim Lax (father of Moshe Lax) in the 2000s. Their real estate development firm, North Development Group, built several high rises in then low-rise North Williamsburg which were very successful. After the death of Lax, Hager had difficulty obtaining financing for legacy obligations of their partnership and filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in 2009 eventually selling his existing portfolio to Louis Kestenbaum's Fortis Property Group, Xinyuan Real Estate, and Joseph Chetrit's Chetrit Group. After the recession of the 1990s, Hager re-established his firm under the Cornell Realty Management name. Taking a more conservative approach to development by partnering with larger players - such as Hudson Realty Capital, Madison Realty Capital and L&L Capital Partners - and using funds raised in the Hasidic community, he has been able to rebuild his business. Since 2017, he has faced opposition from activists when he proposed building a 565-unit apartment complex in

Crown Heights, Brooklyn Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue (New York City), Atlantic Avenue to the north, ...

; in April 2019, a judge issued a

restraining order A restraining order or protective order is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation often involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and perso ...

against the project. His company, along with city councilwoman Laurie Cumbo, are

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one juris ...

s in a case about the controversial rezoning near the Brooklyn Botanical Garden that would allow for oversize towers to be built there. Along with fellow Hasidic developers Simon Dushinsky, Yoel Goldman, and

Joel Schreiber Joel Schreiber is a British-born American real estate developer, investor, and founder of Waterbridge Capital. Biography Schreiber was born to a Hasidic Jewish family in London. He moved to New York City and in 2000 – with the help of his fam ...

, he is considered a prolific real estate developer in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Personal life

He is married to Shifra Hager.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hager, Isaac American Orthodox Jews American businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from New York City Vizhnitz (Hasidic dynasty) members Living people People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn Year of birth missing (living people)