(
)
A group of storied boardwalk businesses have drawn a line in the Coney Island sand — demanding at least $2 million before they’ll agree to move out and make way for a modern amusement district, sources said.
“The tenants are holding the boardwalk hostage in order to get a big payout and then walk away,” a city official told The Post.
The eight mainstays — including Ruby’s Bar and Grill and Shoot the Freak — feel they are the ones being shafted. They were slapped with eviction notices on Nov. 1 by Zamperla, an Italian company tapped by the city to both run Luna Park and redevelop the properties that house the longtime boardwalk businesses.
The boardwalk operators have sued Zamperla to block the evictions but are quietly trying to reach a settlement — seeking an average of at least $250,000 for each of the businesses, said two sources close to the negotiations.
Anthony Berlingieri, owner of the shuttered Shoot the Freak attraction and Beer Island bar, said remaining on the boardwalk is still the main goal.
“Is there a magic number that could change my mind? Perhaps, but my goal from the beginning has always been to come back,” said Berlingieri, whose human-target paintball-shooting gallery was bulldozed by Zamperla last week before a judge could rule on the evictions.
The businesses believe delaying the eviction process will force Zamperla to bring them back in 2011 because Zamperla wouldn’t have enough time to move forward with its $5 million plan for a cleaner, more sanitized boardwalk featuring a swanky sit-down restaurant and sports bar.
But Zamperla says the sites’ storefronts are unsafe. The company even told The Post last week it would rather have shuttered storefronts than bring them back.
Lawyers for all sides, meanwhile, have been quietly discussing a settlement plan.
Sources say the biggest holdup had been Zamperla, which doesn’t want to give the businesses a dime, partly because of the way they have played on the public’s sympathy.
Lawyers for the businesses and Zamperla did not return messages.
“We’re confident that the boardwalk will be open for business, one way or another,” city spokesman David Lombino said.
Although Luna Park, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and the Cyclone will be back next summer, the eviction battle could leave much of the prime boardwalk area near Stillwell Avenue vacant, except a lot where Zamperla plans to unveil four rides.