CBGB Faces Closing

Here's a heartfelt plea to Green Day and all the kids trying to keep punk alive: Give some dough to Hilly Kristal.
That would be the beleaguered proprietor of a little club on the Bowery in New York called CBGB. The same little hole-in-the-wall that served as midwife for the births of iconic acts such as Richard Hell, the Ramones, the Talking Heads and Blondie. The same joint that's about to get shut down.
Kristal says the 32-year-old club is in trouble because he owes $91,000 in back rent (he says it was a bookkeeping mix-up). To make matters worse, the $19,000-a-month rent is being doubled in August when the lease expires.