NAME: Asher Zelig Brodt
POSITION: President Imperial Realty Lakewood
NJ ROLE MODEL: My wife
FAVORITE PLACE: At a kumzitz with my father and brothers
It’s traffic on Route 9 that delays my arrival for my nine o’clock breakfast meeting with Asher Brodt. But the congestion is more than just a nuisance it explains part of the reason I’m here.
The CEO of Imperial Realty — a powerhouse in Lakewood’s residential market — carries a last name that merges two generations of Beth Medrash Govoha with an appreciation and respect for the many young families seeking to find homes in Lakewood. Even as he sits in the corner of his busy office Brodt looks like he would much prefer to be standing microphone in hand surrounded by his brothers as they accompany their father Reb Abish in song. Part of the Lakewood brand — Reb Abish is a Lakewood alumnus as are his sons — the family are regulars at Beth Medrash Govoha simchos and all Yom Tov events yet welcome figures in the great chassidic courts.
But the world of Lakewood real estate isn’t always as serene as a slow song. It’s hard to connect the delightful Beth Medrash Govoha yungerman in white shirtsleeves with the explosion the commotion the dizzying speed of the developments and projects spreading for miles around us.
