W Magazine Owner Sued for $2.7M in Unpaid Rent After Allegedly Abandoning Office

Bustle, the media conglomerate behind W Magazine and the now-defunct Gawker, is facing a lawsuit for nearly $3 million in unpaid rent and other expenses after allegedly abandoning its lease at 315 Park Ave. South.

Columbia Property Trust, the real estate firm that owns the building, filed the lawsuit Jan. 30 in New York County Supreme Court, accusing BDG Media of breaching its contract by failing to pay rent since October 2023.

BDG Media, founded as Bustle Digital Group by entrepreneur Bryan Goldberg, originally leased the 10th and 11th floors of the Flatiron District office tower in 2016, occupying 34,100 square feet at a reported annual rent of $3.1 million, roughly $260,000 per month, according to court filings.

By the end of last year, BDG had racked up approximately $2.3 million in unpaid rent, along with $183,000 in late fees and $275,000 for expenses such as electricity and insurance, bringing its total outstanding balance to $2.7 million, the lawsuit states.

Founded in 2013, BDG expanded aggressively under Goldberg’s leadership, acquiring struggling digital media brands including Gawker, Mic, and Elite Daily. The company relaunched Gawker in 2021 after it had been forced out of business following a $140 million lawsuit filed against the original company by wrestler Hulk Hogan over the publication of his sex tape. Nick Denton, the founder of Gawker, placed the site into bankruptcy after he lost an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit. BDG had its own problems with the relaunch and shut the site down again in early 2023.

As of press time, 315 Park Ave. South remains listed as BDG’s corporate address on its website, suggesting it served as the company’s main office.

Columbia Property Trust purchased 315 Park Ave. South for $350 million in 2015. Notable tenants include venture-capital data firm Harvey AI, Walleye Capital, and an onsite Equinox.