NEW YORK, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Calling New York's rock club CBGB a "major cultural institution," a New York Civil Court judge ruled the punk mecca can not be evicted over rent issues.
The Bowery Residents Committee owns the space occupied by CBGB since 1973. Its lease expires Aug. 31 and the landlords said the club must pay nearly $100,000 in back rent or shut down -- but CBGB's owner claimed he was improperly billed and unfairly hit with various penalties.
Judge Joan Kenney asked in her ruling Wednesday if the building owner "with suspect accounting, intentionally orchestrated a scenario that precluded CBGB" from being able to meet its obligations, the New York Daily News reported Thursday.
The judge also tossed out the landlord's complaint CBGB paid its monthly $19,000 rent late, saying that had been the arrangement for years without a problem.
Kenney called the club -- credited with the birth of punk rock - "a major cultural institution that provides a venue and a voice for a unique and original genre of music."
It was unknown if the landlords would now negotiate a new lease with the club or return to Kenney's court with new reasons to evict CBGB.
