Rotterdam

Dilruba Koli sat at her perfume kiosk in the darkened Rotterdam Square Mall on Thursday, waiting for a customer who had called saying they were coming in to pick up something. Everything around her was shuttered and dark, even the post office.

"The management is saying we will get the lights back on tomorrow," said Koli, owner of the Perfume Outlet. "They are good people, very helpful."

But unpaid power bills by the mall owner, Kohan Retail Investment Group, led to electricity being shut off in the mall that morning by National Grid to the surprise of business owners and their workers. The lights were still off later that day, with National Grid spokesman Patrick Stella saying the utility was still "in negotiations" with Kohan.

"National Grid must confirm receipt of payment from the owner in order to turn power back on. Power is not back on and we do not anticipate turning it back on until tomorrow at the earliest if payment can be confirmed," said Stella. He declined to say how much is owed, citing company policy.

The three major mall tenants — Macy's, Sears and Kmart — all have arranged for their own power, and remained open for a relative handful of customers. "We are open and plan to remain so," said Kmart Manager Rick Lebel. He said the store has its own electric meter with National Grid.

Managers at Sears and Macy's declined comment when asked by a reporter about the situation or future plans. The Macy's store announced last month that it was pulling out by April and is in the midst of an inventory sale.

A Rotterdam public works employee was at Macy's to take a final reading for the water meter. A spokesman for the department said this was being done because of Macy's planned closure and was unrelated to the power issue.

Attempts to reach mall and Kohan owner Mehan Kohansiek — who goes by Mike Kohan — weren't successful late Thursday afternoon. Earlier in the day, he told a Times Union reporter he was too busy to talk about the situation. Subsequent calls to his Great Neck, Nassau County, office were answered by voicemail.

A Times Union reporter who went to the mall was told by unidentified security that all questions had to be directed to Kohan, and was asked by security not to speak to anyone at the mall.

The front doors remained opened through at least the early afternoon, and some people could be seen walking through the dim concourse as a mall worker ran a cordless floor polishing machine.

This is the second time in recent months that Kohan's apparently precarious finances have been exposed publicly. In November, he narrowly averted having the mall's power turned off by National Grid over at least $100,000 in unpaid bills.

At that time, Rottderdam Town Supervisor Harry Buffardi and Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority Chairman Ray Gillen intervened to buy time for the bill to be paid. Kohan blamed the situation on a "misunderstanding" over an electric meter.

Gillen and Buffardi could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Kohan is current on his property taxes, however, according to Schenectady County spokesman Joe McQueen.

Kohan's company bought the mall for $8.5 million from the Macerich Corp. in January 2014. His company promotes itself as turning around distressed malls and other retail centers.

Since Christmas, tenants have been pulling out of Rotterdam Square. In addition to Macy's, Littman Jewelers, The Gap, Deb, Aeropostale and Olympia Sports are either closed or in the process of closing.

Kohan has a controversial history at some of the 13 other malls he owns. In Matteson, Ill., outside Chicago, he was at odds with village officials over alleged safety violations and lack of repairs at Lincoln Mall.

Last month, village officials announced the mall would be shut down because of "persistent and long-standing building violations."

Another of his properties, Woodville Mall in Northwood, Ohio, near Toledo, was demolished in March 2014 after multiple building code violations were left unaddressed. Kohan bought that mall in 2009 and later said he did not have adequate funds to perform repairs when pressed by officials.

In Worthington, Minn., Kohan was reported to owe back taxes on the Northland Mall, where a former Kmart store was declared hazardous by the city, which later got court permission to knock down part of the dilapidated structure. By last fall, the mall was down to a handful of tenants.

On Kohan's company website, there is a listing for Northland Mall, which leads to a page containing nothing but gibberish.

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bnearing@timesunion.com • 518-454-5094 • @Bnearing10