Can the corner of Tenth Avenue and West 23rd Street stop killing restaurants? Jasmin Zafaranloo hopes so. She’s opening Il Bordello there on November 12. “We’ve heard it’s a cursed corner,” she says. There’s a roomy, 70-seat interior built around a handsome bar, but since 1998, Le Solex, Jerry’s Bar & Grill, and the Flamingo Room have each come and gone. “The owners knew the corner they had,” says Zafaranloo, “but because there was that cursed atmosphere, I think a lot of people were afraid.” Will Zafaranloo be able to stave off history? The High Line, visible from almost every seat, opens next spring, and locals keep stopping by to say hello. “As soon as I walked in here, I said, ‘This is it,’ ” she says. “I had a feeling.” So, probably, did the last owner.

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• Archive: “Intelligencer”
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