Metro

Coney ‘Freak’ is bulldozed

The owner of Coney Island’s “Shoot the Freak” freaked out yesterday after his beloved boardwalk attraction was razed without his consent.

“I’m still in shock,” said Anthony Berlingieri, operator of the famous game in which patrons shoot paintballs at human targets.

The open-air attraction and seven others boardwalk businesses that operate out of storefronts are challenging eviction proceedings by Zamperla USA.

When Berlingieri visited the site yesterday, he discovered the main entrance had been boarded up and the game’s props and fencing had been cleared out hours earlier. Only the Shoot the Freak sign, which now hangs slightly crooked and with some letters missing, remains.

“Zamperla never contacted me before throwing out my equipment and basically shutting me out of business,” said Berlingieri, adding he plans to sue Zamperla for “illegally evicting” him.

Zamperla, which runs Luna Park, needs the site for a boardwalk entrance to its planned “Scream Zone” featuring roller coasters and other rides that it plans to unveil next summer on Stillwell Avenue.

A Zamperla spokesman said the firm believes its actions are legal and needed to move quickly to be ready for next summer.

The boardwalk businesses were served eviction papers Nov. 1, but a judge isn’t scheduled to hear their challenge until at least next month.

Zamperla wants them out to create a cleaner, more sanitized amusement district featuring swanky eateries.

Berlingieri, of Bensonhurt, has run Shoot the Freak the past 10 years and also operates the sandy Beer Island bar that Zamperla wants to evict.