Arianna Huffington partied so hard in her rented Chelsea loft that it looked like a scene from Animal House after a rowdy frat party, according to a new lawsuit.
When Huffington departed the 4,400 square foot, seven-story apartment at 227 W. 17th Street in January she’d caused $275,000 in damages ranging from “gouged, stained and otherwise damaged” walls, “scratched, punctured” wood floors, bloodied mattresses and broken appliances, the Manhattan Supreme Court suit charges.
“Huffington was using the apartment for large parties and business functions in breach of the sublease and Huffington’s promises,” court papers allege.
“Dishwasher racks, stove knobs and a refrigerator drawer were broken and had to be replaced,” the loft’s owner Eric Steel gripes in the complaint.
The fully furnished apartment was designed by owner Eric Steel’s stepdad, renown architect Charles Gwathmey.
The media maven also allegedly trashed an “irreplaceable” dining room table designed by Gwathmey, whose projects include the 1992 renovation of the Guggenheim Museum.
“The Gwathmey designed, custom made dining room table was damaged and scratched and the finish compromised,” the legal papers say. “It had to be crated, hoisted out of the apartment and repaired by the original manufacturer.”
Even though Huffington agreed to be the apartment’s sole occupant in the lease, her daughters allegedly crashed in the office and den, according to the suit.
Huffington forked over between $27,000 and $32,000 a month for the pad.
Huffington said, “Every single claim in this suit is false except the square footage and the address,” in a statement. “Eric Steel, who happily renewed the lease twice and visited the apartment multiple times, is holding onto $93,000 dollars in deposits, which he has refused to return,” she added.