For more than two months, New York's CBGB has operated without a lease, undaunted. Unsigned bands continue to take the iconic club's stage, drinks continue to be poured. But several blocks away in open court, the battle for the space that houses the venue quietly continues to unfold.

On Tuesday afternoon, lawyers for both sides — CBGB owner Hilly Kristal and his landlord, the Bowery Residents' Committee, a nonprofit that funds programs for New York's homeless — stood before New York State Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead during the latest in a spate of hearings that've taken place since August 31, when Kristal's lease expired (see "CBGB Served With Eviction Notice"). Both attorneys were presented with a solution the judge had devised on her own. According to Kristal, Edmead recommended that CBGB and the BRC both appoint independent real-estate appraisers to establish the fair market rent for the club's shell. That amount, Edmead offered, Kristal could pay for a one-year period, after which he'd move out without conflict.

While there's been no firm resolution to the dispute, both lawyers were expected to resume negotiations on Edmead's proposal later Wednesday afternoon (Kristal's attorney, Steven Sperber, said he didn't expect there to be a decision one way or the other this week). In the meantime, Kristal said he's not pegging his hopes on the judge's plan of action. Instead, he said he's looking for alternate spaces to house CBGB.

"I'm going to find another place — I hope," he said. "I can't move until I find a place, and that will take quite a while. So, if [Edmead's suggested resolution] goes through — and that wouldn't be for another week or two, more toward the end of November — if it's a year, I'll stay and keep looking. If I can find a place in six months, I'll move out. I need to find a place where CBs will prosper and keep growing, though. I don't want to just go down the drain. I intend to do more with it."

Kristal said the fight with his landlord is wearing him out, and he's not confident it will end the way he and the "Save CBGB" campaign would like. As such, he's been looking for space in both New York and Las Vegas. Kristal said he doesn't intend on just letting CBGB die — he'll keep the club open, even if it has to take a different form. Edmead's idea, even if executed, would still wind up being too costly for him.

"We just can't afford [market rent]," Kristal said. "If that's how it's going to be, we might as well be out now."

Kristal added that he's been approached by several businesses — including a children's sleepwear manufacturer — with buyout offers. Most of these offers would entail Kristal turning over his right to the CBGB name and the club itself. But he's not having that.

"I am not going to sell the name and let anybody do what they want under any circumstances." Other companies have offered to negotiate a lease with the BRC, and then simply allow CBGB to remain right where it is, he said. "I've been approached by [companies and individuals] for months now, [who're] saying [they have] the lease but then would bring me in," Kristal explained. "I am just befuddled by all these people who have their own agendas, and I'm protecting myself."

Muzzy Rosenblatt, who heads the BRC, would not comment.