Madison Square Garden seeks permanent permit
Arena’s 10-year license scheduled to expire in July
James Dolan plans to keep Madison Square Garden right where it is, despite calls to overhaul the transit hub underneath.
The MSG Entertainment chief executive told city officials he would seek a permanent special permit to keep the Garden operating at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, the New York Times reported. The arena’s 10-year special permit is due to expire in July.
Dolan has been down this road before, as 2,500-seat arenas in the city require special permits from the city to operate. In 2013, Dolan also applied for a permanent permit. Instead, he received the 10-year permit, running a fifth of the time of MSG’s previous half-century permit.
The interim decade was supposed to provide time for Dolan to seek a new home for the arena. There has been little movement on that front, though, and Dolan recently nixed a proposal from Related Companies to build a new arena above a casino in Midtown West.
Councilperson Erik Bottcher, whose district includes MSG, has expressed support for moving the arena to the Western Rail Yard.
The entertainment mecca has made headlines recently as Dolan clashed with officials over the company’s use of facial recognition software to ban lawyers even distantly connected to cases against MSG. The chief executive also hired Hope Hicks, Donald Trump’s former communications director, as a consultant in the wake of backlash over the technology.
The State Liquor Authority announced last month an investigation into violations of the Garden’s liquor license, which Dolan dismissed as a bid for publicity and responded with a threat to shut down liquor and alcohol sales at an upcoming Rangers game.
Proponents for the Garden’s move have noted its challenges to a Penn Station renovation, as well as the $43 million the arena reaps in property tax breaks each year. Repairs for the transit station are currently being linked to a controversial plan to build 10 skyscrapers around Penn Station to generate the necessary revenue.
MSGE last month retained Goldman Sachs to explore a sale of Dolan’s controlling stake of the Tao nightclub and restaurant chain, which operates 32 restaurants and upscale clubs in New York City and venues across the world.
— Holden Walter-Warner