New York City Mayor Mamdani Criticizes Madison Square Garden Owner Over Surveillance Technology
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has spoken out against the use of facial recognition and surveillance cameras at Madison Square Garden venues. He backs a council member's bills that would ban biometric data collection in public places.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has criticized James Dolan, the owner of Madison Square Garden, whose company runs one of the city's largest entertainment venues. The mayor argued that the company's surveillance technology should not be allowed. He made the remarks in an interview with Wired on Tuesday, November 3.
Mamdani said such technologies are “indicative of much that is wrong in our country today.” He pointed to two local bills introduced by City Council member Shahana Hanif, which aim to ban the collection of biometric data, such as through facial recognition, in public places across the city. The mayor called the draft legislation “an important response to this kind of an issue.”
Wired's reporting
The comments follow a series of Wired reports describing how Dolan relies on surveillance cameras and face-scanning technology to track people inside and outside the company's venues. In one report, Wired revealed that the company keeps a database that, among other things, marks some visitors, including celebrity performers, as “LGBTQIA.” The reasons for the label are unclear. Dolan later sued Wired over its reporting.
An earlier case
In 2021, Madison Square Garden made headlines when a woman was banned from Radio City, another venue owned by Dolan. Facial recognition systems had identified her as an attorney at a law firm that was suing Dolan's company, although she was not involved in the litigation.
A spokesperson for Madison Square Garden did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment. Since 2021, New York City has required businesses to disclose when they collect biometric data from visitors.
