Tuesday 13 September 2016

Sean Lennon’s invasive West Village tree gets the axe

A manhattan judge has ordered the tree be removed

A truly odd, semi-celebrity battle has finally come to an end. A Manhattan Supreme Court judge ordered John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s son, Sean to remove the tree that was intruding into the property of Marisa Tomei’s parents next door, the New York Daily News first reported.

In a legal case that has gone on for almost two years now, Tomei’s parents Gary and Addie alleged that the 60-foot tall Ailanthus tree on Lennon property had damaged the railing on the stoop, and that roots of the tree had crept into their basement.

The judge agreed and ordered the tree be removed as soon as possible. Tomei’s parents had filed a lawsuit for $10 million last February after failing to get in touch with Lennon despite trying on several occasions, according to the News.

Lennon’s lawyer had previously mentioned in court that his client would be willing to pay for the damages to the Tomeis’ property, but that he wished for the tree to remain in place. But seeing as the homes are located in a landmarked district, it wasn’t all that easy for the Tomeis to just accept that offer.

Their lawyer countered that the couple would have to pay a lot more to get approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and that the couple had already been saddled with a violation from the Department of Buildings for a broken stoop which needed to be fixed immediately to avoid more fines.

The specifics of the damages are expected to be settled in court next month.



from
http://ny.curbed.com/2016/9/13/12904946/sean-lennon-marisa-tomei-village-tree-battle

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