A fire erupted in Robert DeNiro’s apartment and wreaked havoc on several floors of his posh Central Park West building yesterday.
The blaze, caused by a lint buildup in a clothes dryer, spread to every apartment on the fifth floor of 88 Central Park West, where homes sell for as much as $25 million.
Apartments on the fourth and sixth floors also were damaged, officials said.
“Right above my head these 12-foot-tall flames exploded out of the fifth-floor window,” said Nathan Bear, 23, who was in his car on the street below.
“The smoke was so dark and heavy, it was hard to breathe,” said a sixth-floor resident who gave her name as Gail W.
“I’m lucky the elevator still worked. That’s how I was able to get out.”
Firefighters had difficulty getting water to the blaze because of problems with the building’s standpipes. Inspectors issued a violation against the building owner, said FDNY spokesman Jim Long.
De Niro is out of the country, a spokesperson said. “When he finds out about this, he’s not gonna be happy,” Bear said.