Antonio Banderas - Banderas And Griffith See Dakota Application Turned Down

Married couple ANTONIO BANDERAS and MELANIE GRIFFITH have had an application to move into New York's notorious Dakota building turned down - because residents don't want another JOHN LENNON "incident".

Ex-BEATLE Lennon lived in the exclusive Manhattan residence for years before he was murdered at its entrance on 8 December 1980.

The Dakota's inhabitants are anxious to avoid a repeat occurrence and so refused Banderas and Griffith's request to purchase a $3.8 million (GBP2 million) apartment.

One says, "How could they be serious? The building is fickle when it comes to celebrities. They don't want another Lennon incident."

The Dakota building was also the setting of director ROMAN POLANSKI's classic 1968 film ROSEMARY'S BABY.