The efforts of Zamperla/Central Amusements International to remake the Boardwalk in their own, faux-Victorian image took a hit from the City government last week.

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS – The city slapped amusement giant Zamperla with a $5,000 fine Thursday for illegally razing Coney Island’s Shoot the Freak.

The company tore down the Boardwalk game and boarded up the property last week without a permit, Buildings Department officials said.

The city issued a stop-work order to bar further demolition.

Shoot the Freak is one of nine Boardwalk businesses that Zamperla is trying to boot to make way for glitzier attractions.

The eviction battle is still pending in court.

I’ve said this before – I don’t have a great deal of sympathy the amusement advocacy organization Save Coney Island in this fight – they had all year to lobby Zamperla to keep more of the Boardwalk businesses, but they seem to have been caught up in the excitement of the Luna Park opening, along with pursing their long-lost battle against Joe Sitt’s demolition of his remaining property. And if I had to choose only one business to replace, it would probably be Shoot The Freak. Sorry – just not a fan.

But this demolition seems really sketchy to me. I’m not sure if it’s different in commercial buildings, but in residential law, it’s extremely difficult to evict tenants who don’t want to leave. It takes several months, and several trips to court to pull it off. It sometimes seems as arduous as the process for firing a tenured NYC teacher.

So even if Zamperla ultimately wins this battle in court, there’s no reason to think they’ll do so before the spring. Not sure what possessed them to go ahead and just demolish one of the businesses in advance of the court date.