No olive branch: Marisa Tomei’s parents ask judge to force Sean Lennon to cut down rotting tree

John Lennon’s son, Marisa Tomei’s parents, a rotting tree and a pair of Greenwich Village townhouses. The start of a joke? More like the crux of an ongoing feud – the latest chapter of which has the actress’ parents asking a judge to force the Beatle’s son to cut down an ailing tree on his property.

In documents filed this week in Manhattan Supreme Court, Gary and Addie Tomei asked a judge to force Sean Lennon to remove the 60-foot tree from his property at 153 West 13th Street, which is adjacent to their townhouse at No. 155, the New York Post reported. Roots have cracked their stoop and damaged their foundation, they allege. The Tomeis first filed a suit against Lennon in 2015.

In the new filings, the Tomeis lambast Lennon for “arrogantly” demanding that they alter their townhouse so that he can save the ailing tree.

The Tomeis, who have owned their house since 1994, have spent the past few months fighting with Lennon, the son of the Beatles’ John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who shelled out $9.5 million for No. 153 in 2008.

“To suggest that [the Tomeis] forever transform their 170-year-old property so that [Lennon] may temporarily enjoy viewing its tree is absurd,” Gerald Walters, the Tomeis’ lawyer, wrote in court papers.

For his part, Lennon wants the Tomeis to alter an iron railing so that the tree can live another 25 years.

But the Tomei’s attorney had this to say about Lennon’s solution: “Arrogant, presumptuous and unreasonable,” not to mention “hypocritical,” since Lennon cut some of the tree’s roots to install an elevator at his house.

Both parties will meet next month in court. [NYP] – E.B. Solomont