French Bistro Cedric Booted Black Women for White Patrons, Pol Says

French Bistro Cedric Booted Black Women for White Patrons, Pol Says

February 13, 2012 8:04pm | By Jeff Mays, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

Cedric French Bistro's managing partner (from left) Dard Coaxum and co-owners Cedric Lecendre and Fabrizio Khanlari. (DNAinfo/Jeff Mays)

HARLEM — Councilwoman Inez Dickens has called for a boycott of a new French restaurant in Harlem, accusing the upscale uptown eatery of moving a group of black women to accommodate a group of white patrons earlier this month.

At one point the group at Cedric Bistro included deputy Manhattan Borough President Rosemonde Pierre-Louis, but she left before the women were moved.  However, she was called back to the restaurant by her friends later in the evening as the dispute over the move raged in the trendy spot.

In a tersely worded letter to the restaurant, which opened on St. Nicholas Avenue near 119th Street five months ago to rave reviews, Dickens accuses the owners of racism for moving the party of five high-powered black women on Feb 4.

"Racism against anyone in my community, in my district on my watch due to race, color, creed, sexual preference or perceived economic status is unacceptable," Dickens wrote in her Feb. 9 letter to the restaurant's co-owner Cedric Lecendre, who is white.

Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/20120213/harlem/french-bistro-cedric-booted-black-women-for-white-patrons-pol-says?utm_content=chiefcharley472%40gmail.com&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=French%20Bistro%20Cedric%20Booted%20Black%20Women%20for%20White%20Patrons%2C%20Pol%20Says&utm_campaign=Group%20Hopes%20to%20Give%20Shipwrecked%20Harvest%20Dome%20New%20Lifecontent#ixzz1mNNuoH1e