James Dolan Says He Might Ban Liquor at a Rangers Game in Madison Square Garden - The New York Times

For weeks, arsenic contention raged implicit his usage of facial designation exertion to barroom ineligible adversaries from his family’s world-famous sports arena, James Dolan remained mute, but for guarded statements issued by spokeswomen.

That soundlessness ended Thursday greeting erstwhile helium appeared successful a greeting speech amusement and lived up to his estimation arsenic the mercurial maestro of Madison Square Garden.

He cited the Bill of Rights and said that arsenic a spot owner, helium was afloat justified successful keeping opposing lawyers retired of the Garden. He called retired elected officials “jumping connected the bandwagon” against his prohibition alternatively of addressing much pressing issues, similar transgression and bail reform. He adjacent threatened to institute a brew prohibition astatine a Rangers game.

Then Mr. Dolan trolled an obscure authorities authoritative — Sharif Kabir, main enforcement of the New York State Liquor Authority, which is investigating the Garden — by holding aloft a flier bearing Mr. Kabir’s photograph and interaction accusation truthful thirsty fans mightiness “tell him to instrumentality to his knitting.”

All successful all, Mr. Dolan, who owns the New York Knicks and Rangers, did not precisely look cowed by the firestorm created by his ban.

“Not astatine all,” said Mr. Dolan, who is main enforcement of MSG Entertainment.

A billionaire who has tally his empire with an autocratic flair, Mr. Dolan has publically feuded with fans and erstwhile Knicks players astatine the Garden and has threatened customers with beingness bans from the Garden connected respective occasions. But lone past period did it go nationalist that the venue was utilizing cameras astatine its entrances to assistance barroom lawyers who worked for firms handling civilian suits against Mr. Dolan’s properties.

The Garden has been utilizing facial designation since 2018, but Mr. Dolan’s antithetic usage of it against his foes thrust him into a increasing contention and pitted him against thousands of lawyers. Some went to tribunal to get injunctions to unit their mode backmost into Garden events, mounting up further tribunal battles with Mr. Dolan. Others filed complaints with authorities agencies.

Elected officials person held quality conferences and projected laws barring the exclusionary policy.

But it was the Liquor Authority probe that provoked 1 of the astir pugnacious responses successful Mr. Dolan’s rambling 17-minute interrogation connected FOX-5’s “Good Day New York” greeting show. Mr. Dolan challenged the bureau to “take distant my liquor license,” adding, “People are inactive going to travel to the games.”

“They’re being highly aggressive, and they’re saying, ‘We’re going to instrumentality distant your liquor license.’ So I person a small astonishment for them,” helium said.

“We’re going to prime a night, possibly a Rangers game, and we’re going to unopen down each the liquor and intoxicant successful the building,” helium added, and past held up the flier of Mr. Kabir.

A State Liquor Authority spokesman, Joshua Heller, said yesterday that the Garden, arsenic a nationalist concern with a liquor license, indispensable stay unfastened to the public. He said the Liquor Authority notified Garden officials successful November of a ailment that charged them with violating the presumption of their licence nether authorities beverage laws by restricting definite members of the nationalist from entry.

A radical of authorities legislators representing Manhattan person introduced a measure that would adjacent a ineligible loophole successful bid to prohibit Mr. Dolan from continuing to barroom prime patrons.

Tony Simone, a Democrat representing the West Side of Manhattan and a measure sponsor, said helium himself had tally afoul of Mr. Dolan’s exclusionary practices this month.

Mr. Simone, the archetypal openly cheery authoritative to clasp the assembly seat, said helium was abruptly disinvited from a Rangers crippled soon aft a quality merchandise went retired listing him among different section elected officials opposing Mr. Dolan’s policy.

In an interrogation connected Thursday, Mr. Simone said a Garden authoritative told him “it would beryllium awkward astatine this time” for him to be the game, wherever a Pride Night event was being hosted by Hockey is for Everyone, an inclusion advocacy group.

“I conjecture hockey is for everyone unless you talk retired astir thing Jim Dolan doesn’t hold with you on,” helium said.

Another measure sponsor, State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, called Mr. Dolan’s quality connected Thursday a “public meltdown.” He called Mr. Dolan a “poster kid of privilege” and noted that helium receives $43 cardinal successful taxation breaks annually.

“New York shouldn’t let petty tyrants to enforce their warped fantasies connected the nationalist portion reaping millions each twelvemonth from payer subsidies,” helium said.

Mr. Dolan criticized Mr. Hoylman-Sigal, who helium said was capitalizing connected the contented for publicity and fund-raising purposes. Garden officials said they were pursuing each laws and anti-discrimination regulations and keeping retired lone a small, narrowly defined subset of lawyers engaged successful progressive litigation.

The New York lawyer general, Letitia James, and the Manhattan territory attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, accidental they are some looking into whether the admittance policies interruption the law.

MSG Entertainment officials said that the surveillance remains successful usage chiefly to place radical who could beryllium information threats and that the ticker database included patrons who had breached rules — being violent, throwing things oregon engaging successful different misbehavior.

The Dolan family’s companies person besides been a predominant people of lawsuits, from idiosyncratic injuries to nonaccomplishment of play tickets to complaints from stockholders implicit concern deals, and institution officials support that the prohibition is geared toward keeping opposing lawyers from gathering evidence.

During the Thursday greeting interview, Mr. Dolan cited his law rights arsenic a spot proprietor to support the Garden, comparing his concern to that of a bakery oregon a restaurant.

“For immoderate reason. If there’s idiosyncratic you don’t privation to serve, you get to say, ‘I don’t privation to service you,’” helium said.

For Mr. Dolan, it was a uncommon interview, and 1 that concluded with a question astir his blues band.

Finally, helium beamed. He said helium was progressive with a thrilling philharmonic task — “but it’s sucking up each my time.”