Mamdani criticizes Madison Square Garden owner over surveillance technology

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized Madison Square Garden’s owner over its use of surveillance technology, saying it should not be allowed, according to an interview with Wired.

Mamdani said the technologies are “indicative of much that is wrong in our country today.” He also pointed to two pieces of local legislation introduced by City Council member Shahana Hanif that would ban collecting biometric data, including through facial recognition, in public places across the city. Mamdani called the draft legislation “an important response to this kind of an issue.”

The comments follow Wired reports about owner James Dolan’s use of surveillance cameras and face-scanning technology to track people at and outside his venues. One report said the company maintains a database that labels some visitors, including celebrity performers, as “LGBTQIA,” for reasons that were unclear. Dolan later sued Wired over its reporting.

In 2021, a woman was barred from Radio City, another Dolan-owned venue, after facial recognition identified her as an attorney at a law firm suing the company, though she was not involved in the case. Madison Square Garden spokesperson Mikyl Cordova told TechCrunch that Wired’s reporting was “inaccurate and false” and that MSG was pursuing legal remedies, but provided no evidence for the claim. Since 2021, New York City has required businesses to disclose when they collect visitors’ biometric data.