New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has publicly criticized James Dolan, the owner of Madison Square Garden (MSG), saying the company’s use of surveillance technology should not be permitted.
In an interview with Wired on Tuesday, Mamdani described surveillance technologies as “indicative of much that is wrong in our country today.” He noted that New York City Council member Shahana Hanif has introduced two local legislative proposals intended to ban the collection of biometric data — such as facial-recognition — in public places across the city. Mamdani called the draft legislation “an important response to this kind of an issue.”
Reporting that prompted the remarks
Mamdani’s comments followed a series of Wired reports detailing how James Dolan’s company uses surveillance cameras and face-scanning technology to track people inside and around its venues. One Wired article said the company maintains a database that, among other things, labels some visitors — including celebrity performers — as “LGBTQIA,” though the reasons for that designation were not made clear by the reporting.
Following the Wired coverage, James Dolan sued Wired.
Past incident and city rules
In 2021, MSG drew attention after a woman was banned from Radio City, another Dolan-owned venue, after facial-recognition systems identified her as an attorney at a law firm that was suing Dolan’s company, even though she was not involved in that litigation.
Also since 2021, New York City has required businesses to disclose when they are collecting biometric data from visitors.
MSG’s response
When contacted by TechCrunch, Madison Square Garden spokesperson Mikyl Cordova said: “Wired’s reporting is inaccurate and false. MSG is pursuing legal remedies,” without providing evidence to support that claim.
Mamdani’s criticism and Hanif’s proposed legislation have put surveillance, privacy, and public-safety practices at MSG into the center of a broader civic debate, while legal and political actions related to the reporting continue.
