The landlords of New York's CBGB club are standing fast on their refusal to give the club's owners a new lease, despite a well attended rally on Wednesday night in which musicians and music fans called on the powers that be to change their position. But the club's owner, Hilly Kristal, seems up for a fight to stay put, telling the crowds at that rally: "We intend to stay. This is not a eulogy. There's no reason why we shouldn't come to an understanding."
As previously reported, the building is owned by the Bowery Residents Committee - an agency that helps the homeless - and they want to increase the rent on the property. Kristal says he is unable to meet their rent demands, which is why the BRC want the club out of the building. It hard to see the landlords now changing their position, despite all the punk stars backing Kristal, because the BRC's PR team are busy telling reporters that they need to make more rent on the building to better support New York's homeless community, which is a position that is quite hard to knock, even when something as legendary as the CBGB club is at stake. A spokesman for the BRC told reporters this week that he genuinely believed that it was in the "best interest of our clients - the homeless and neediest New Yorkers - to sever this relationship".