Residents of two apartments in Marina’s Edge claim that the manager of the New Rochelle cooperative held a sham election to keep his family and friends in control of the board of directors.
The co-op shareholders demanded a new election in a March 7 petition filed in Westchester Supreme Court against Marina’s Edge Owners Corp., Waterside Garden LP and Harrin K. Platzner.
“The election was a farce,” the petition states, “to ensure that each and every incumbent on the ballot maintained their seat on the board,” including Platzner himself.”
Marina’s Edge consists of five buildings with 210 apartments on Davenport Avenue, near Echo Bay and Hudson Park & Beach.
Waterside Gardens, an affiliate of Platzner International Group Ltd., manages the co-op. Harrin Platzner heads the management company and is chief operating officer of Platzner International, according to the petition.
The case was brought by co-op shareholders Sanford and Shayna Silverman and by Lorna J. Clarke and Edgar Maldonado.
The accusations are based in part on an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James that began in 2019. James found that Harrin Platzner and the Platzner companies had comingled co-op funds, maintained inaccurate financial records, and put a relative on the co-op payroll to oversee the waterfront in the off-season when it was seldom used by residents.
Last year, Harrin Platzner and the attorney general settled the dispute. He agreed to a $75,000 penalty that was reduced to $20,389 when the co-op’s loan obligations were deducted.
He also agreed not to serve as president or treasurer of the Marina’s Edge board of directors, to hold a new election, and to nominate or designate no more than two of the five board members.
Despite co-op bylaws that require annual board elections, the petition states, the last election was in 2019.
The state-mandated election was held on Nov. 8. Five incumbents and five challengers were on the ballot. The incumbents, according to the petition, included Platzner and his family members or personal friends.
The Platzner organization, as owner of 114 apartments, controlled 55% of the voting shares.
To ensure a fair election, the complaint states, only third party, independent election inspectors could handle ballots.
The petitioners claim that the inspectors were not introduced to the shareholders. Instead, Platzner collected the ballots and left the room supposedly to deliver them to the inspectors. He returned a short time later and announced that the incumbents had won.
Shareholders immediately challenged the election and asked to review the ballots, but Platzner and the board allegedly refused.
The petitioners claim that Platzner controls who sits on the board, in violation of his agreement with the attorney general.
They also allege that the board has not disclosed financial reports since 2019 and may not have held required meetings every eight weeks.
“The conduct demonstrated by the Platzner-controlled board establishes that it does not put the interests of the co-op and its shareholders first and foremost,” the petition states.
The petitioners asked the court to order a new election with independent inspectors within 45 days, to restrain Platzner from using his majority control of shares to elect more than two board members, and to disclose all financial statements from 2020 to the present.
Platzner International did not reply to a message asking for its side of the story.
