Coney boardwalk businesses demanding $2M in eviction settlement talks

The Coney Island boardwalk businesses suing to block their evictions by new operator Zamperla are seeking $250,000 each in settlement talks with the city, according to the Post. The Italian company, which was picked by the city to clean up and redevelop the boardwalk, issued eviction notices Nov. 1 to the eight businesses, including Shoot the Freak and Ruby’s Bar & Grill. According to one anonymous, but opinionated, city official, “the tenants are holding the boardwalk hostage in order to get a big payout and then walk away.” But Shoot the Freak owner Anthony Berlingieri, who returned to the site of his attraction last week to find it had already been bulldozed by Zamperla, said he still wants to try to find a way to stay. “Is there a magic number that could change my mind? Perhaps, but my goal from the beginning has always been to come back,” he said. That seems unlikely, given that Zamperla has said it would prefer shuttered storefronts to the return of the businesses it plans to oust. [Post]