Did Mayor Bloomberg kill Moroccan restaurant's business?

Sintir on East Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue is now officially gutted...



After some neighborhood opposition, the Moroccan eatery/lounge opened in May 2009... it was run by the Marrakech-born Hassan Hakmoun, considered the Jerry Garcia of the sintir in his native country....

Anyway, the place looked cute enough....Despite some so-so early reviews, I wanted to give it a try...



...and every time I walked by, I saw the photos of Hakmoun prominently displayed on the restaurant's front window...posed next to Mayor Bloomberg....



These were the only two photos up... no Katz's-like Wall of Fame or anything...

"Maybe he doesn't realize that having a photo of Mayor Bloomberg in the front window in this neighborhood isn't really a selling point," Mrs. Grieve helpfully said after I decided that I really didn't want to try it. Always wondered if anyone else felt the same...

"The Jerry Garcia of the sintir" behind Sintir

New York has the scoop on Sintir Restaurant, Cafe & Lounge on East Ninth Street near Avenue A. As the magazine reports:

Unless you are an aficionado of world music, you may not have heard of the Marrakech-born Hassan Hakmoun, but he is something like the Jerry Garcia of the sintir — a long-necked, three-stringed wood-and-camel-skin lute. He’s also somewhat of an authority on good Moroccan food: “In New York, there is none,” he says matter-of-factly. To rectify that sorry situation, he opens his own place this weekend in the East Village. Unlike his distinctive sound, which fuses Western influences with the music of Morocco’s Gnawa people, Hakmoun’s kitchen specializes in straight-up traditional fare (couscous, bisteeya, harira), and is run with an iron fist by his sister.

On Feb. 9, Sintir went before CB3's SLA Licensing Committee. Bailly Roesch was there to cover the meeting for Eater:

Sintir . . . met some opposition from nine members of the Block Association. They collected a petition with 109 signatures trying to block the restaurant and cited ads the owners had apparently posted on their MySpace pages advertising upcoming live music performances. After a half an hour struggle, the ap was denied, the owner was in tears.

Still want to know more about this sign.

P.S. Here's Hakmoun in concert.

Unopened restaurant has stern warning for anyone thinking of soliciting, loitering, littering, etc.

For reasons unknown to even me, I've been keeping an eye on 424 E. 9th St. between First Avenue and Avenue A. The Moroccan-themed Sintir is planning on opening here...(The owners were denied a beer/wine license in February ... there is opposition from members of the Block Association concerned about the possibility of live music here...)



Work continues at the space... and check out this warning on the front window....



Is that stern warning so necessary?

Sintir update (you know, that new place opening on East Ninth Street)

The rather mysterious looking, we're-assuming-Moroccan joint coming to East Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue...

November:


January:


February:


...is one of the few places applying for a new liquor license (wine)...the Community Board 3's SLA & DCA Licensing Committee will consider this other applications tonight at 6:30.