Madison Square Garden Could Lose Liquor License Over Dolan Flap

The New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) has hit James Dolan-owned properties with four charges related to his use of facial recognition to bar lawyers involved in active litigation against him from entering his properties. If successful, these charges could strip Madison Square Garden—as well as Radio City Musical Hall and Beacon Theater—of their ability to serve liquor to guests, the New York Post reports. The Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp., alongside Dolan’s other affected properties, filed a petition with the Manhattan Supreme Court on Saturday calling on a judge to throw out the charges. “This is a case about abuse of power targeting a good corporate citizen with bogus charges brought in bad faith that threaten to strip that company of State-issued liquor licenses integral to its business,” the petition reads. In a press release, Dolan also called the SLA a “gangster-like governmental organization” and vowed he wouldn’t “cower in the face of their outrageous abuses.”