MSG considers Dolan’s meeting on facial technology with the New York City Liquor Board to be voluntary – after receiving a subpoena

Madison Square Garden attempted to put on a happy face in Monday’s “official interview” with State Liquor Administration officials about using facial recognition technology to keep out perceived enemies of CEO James Dolan, but the state agency says attendance was mandatory.

“As part of MSG Entertainment’s full cooperation with the State Alcohol Administration’s ongoing investigation… we participated in a voluntary interview with the SLA,” a MSG spokesperson said in a statement emailed late Monday night.

“We hope that our involvement and transparency will bring this investigation to a close and ensure our fans continue to have an exceptional experience at our venues.”

But the SLA had a different take on the meeting and how Dolan actually volunteeredsaid appear after the subpoena is issued.

We can confirm that an official interview was conducted [Monday]as is standard practice. This only happened after the SLA had to issue a subpoena to force an interview after MSGE failed to comply with repeated requests for a formal interview,” SLA spokesman Joshua Hiller told The Post.

Hiller said on Wednesday that “the subpoena was valid,” despite MSG’s claims to the contrary.

“The subpoena was issued and served on the SLA and the service was accepted [the company] without any claims of defects,” he added.

He did not provide immediate comment on MSG’s subsequent assertion that the subpoena was technically unenforceable because it had not been delivered at least 20 days prior to the interview.


MSG CEO James Dolan suggested a few weeks ago that he would set the angry-sober blueshirts on SLA boss Sharif Kabir (center) to force the agency to stop investigating MSG’s controversial use of facial recognition technology.
New York State Liquor Authority/Facebook

Dolan has been slammed by elected officials in recent weeks over his company’s use of controversial technology to identify and fire lawyers hired by MSG litigation firms, whether or not the ousted lawyers were personally involved.

“We are seriously concerned that MSG Entertainment is using facial recognition technology against its perceived legitimate enemies, which is extremely problematic due to the potential restriction of free speech and access to the courts,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-R. Senators Liz Kruger, Brad Hoylman-Segal and others are elected.

The company also appears to have taken revenge on its political opponents.

“I was happy to throw the puck at Hockey Night,” Assemblyman Tony Simone said of being suspended from the MSG Pride event. “Then being expelled just because I want to speak out against politics proves our point.”


Dolan in a black jacket and white shirt on a gray background
Garden CEO James Dolan defended a policy barring thousands of lawyers who work for firms involved in litigation against his company from entering the event.
MICHAEL SIMON/starttraksphoto.com

“This is a dystopia. How do you know if other corporate leaders don’t start using it? How do we know if they are already using it? Come on,” Simone added.

Among them is a mother who was kicked out of Radio City Music Hall last November while waiting for the Rockettes to perform with her daughter’s Girl Scout troop.

Later that month, the SLA warned MSG that the way they do business could cost them the right to sell alcohol in their establishments, given existing regulations requiring alcohol licenses to cater to the general public.

“MSG has put in place a direct policy to bar attorneys from firms that are actively litigating the Company from attending events at our sites until the litigation is resolved. While we understand that this policy is frustrating to some, we cannot ignore the fact that litigation creates a notoriously hostile environment,” a spokesperson for The Post said earlier.

Dolan responded in a TV interview last month by threatening to stop selling alcohol at Rangers games so beer-deprived blueshirt fans could deal the SLA a huge blow. like they’re Jacob Trumpet myself.


Whether willing or willing, Dolan gave a formal interview to state alcohol authorities on Monday about his “dystopian” use of facial recognition software.
dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

“It doesn’t bother me because I have been sober for 29 years. I don’t need liquor,” Dolan told Fox 5 before holding up a photo of SLA CEO Sharif Kabir, urging teetotalers to pester Kabir to back off.

“Tell him to stick to his knitting and what he’s got to do and stop showing off and trying to get the media’s attention,” added Dolan, who owns the Rangers and Knicks.

Although Dolan eventually appeared before the SLA to testify in the ongoing investigation, his company still does not get along with the state agency, and MSG has filed a petition with the state Supreme Court to block the SLA subpoena issued in February.

This document order related to a 2021 case in the Delever Chancery Court over MSG’s restructuring could reveal more information about the context of Dolan’s current rule barring lawyers associated with approximately 90 firms from attending MSG events.


A woman's face with a dark curly hare with a focus square above her face, simulating facial recognition software.
Facial recognition software at MSG venues identifies Dolan’s alleged legitimate enemies so they can be kicked out of the premises.
Getty Images/iStockphoto

According to a MSG press release, MSG removed some of the firms associated with the litigation involving Tao Group Hospitality after Dolan decided to explore “a potential sale of its majority stake.”

Dolan is still irritated by elected officials who say his company risks lucrative state tax credits in addition to a city’s expiring permit that allows the famous Garden to gather more than 2,500 people in the arena.

State Attorney General Letitia James raised the issue of whether MSG violates anti-discrimination and civil rights laws.

But the NHL and NBA effectively refused to take any action against Dolan, despite Hoylman-Segal’s pleas.

“I will continue to advocate for our law in Albany to stop James Dolan from banning fans from the Garden on his enemy list, and as we enter budget season raise the alarm on Madison Square Garden’s taxpayer-funded giveaway of over 40 million dollars a year,” Hoylman-Segal told The Post last week.

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