Madison Square Garden said in a new lawsuit Monday alleging that the State Liquor Authority is “colluding” with powerful, connected lawyers in its investigation of the arena’s liquor license, which could strip the Garden’s ability to serve booze.
The World’s Most Famous Arena is seeking to compel Verizon to produce phone records for Charles Stravalle, a part-time SLA investigator probing whether MSG’s policy of using facial recognition to ban lawyers with litigation against it from the venue violates state liquor law. The Garden claims that the SLA, which has charged MSG with administrative law violations over the bans, is explicitly acting at the behest of the “politically influential lawyers” with an “axe to grind.”
In the filing, the arena — home of the Knicks and Rangers and America’s highest-grossing concert venue — says the SLA has until recently “stonewalled” its subpoena for documents but recently turned over materials that “lays bare the collusion” between the lawyers and the authority.
Stravalle, they say, has “coordinated” closely with the lawyers to concoct a case against the Garden and has developed such a strong rapport with them that they even send each other shirtless selfies.
That alleged chumminess culminated in what MSG says was a “raid” on the premises by Stravalle and a Health Department inspector on Feb. 15, contending that Stravalle lied to the health inspector about the premise of the visit — ostensibly a follow-up visit after a physical altercation at the MSG-owned restaurant Lavo — and ultimately harassed staff and threatened revocation of the liquor license.
“We believe the incriminating evidence revealed by the communications between the SLA and the plaintiff’s attorneys is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what our motion and subsequent subpoenas will uncover,” said MSG attorney Jim Walden in a statement. “We look forward to exposing the SLA’s abuses and bringing the facts to light.”
The SLA declined to comment on the specifics of the suit but said it would defend both its employees and its “processes.”
“While we do not comment on pending litigation, we will continue to vigorously defend our processes and dedicated team of public servants,” the Liquor Authority said in a statement. “The only factor driving this disciplinary action is our mandate to ensure that all licensees comply with their obligations under the law.”
Verizon did not respond to a request for comment, while Stravalle could not be reached for comment.
amNewYork reached out to a number associated with Stravalle, and left a message with someone who would only describe herself as a “friend” of his.
The lawyer who sent Stravalle the shirtless image, Sam Davis, told amNewYork Metro the allegation of collusion and chumminess between the two is comical. The shirtless pic, he noted, depicts him and Muhammad Ali, whom he knew casually, even attending his daughter’s wedding. Ali’s 1971 bout with Joe Frazier at the Garden remains arguably the most famous sporting event ever staged there.
Davis says his only relationship with Stravalle has been collaborating as a witness on an investigation, something he says he’ll continue to do until there’s a resolution.
“I’m not embarrassed by any of those pictures,” Davis noted. “I don’t think those are proof of a personal relationship with the SLA investigator other than I cooperated to prove a case. I’m a complaining witness!”
MSG Entertainment, the Garden’s parent company, last summer instated a rule banning from its events lawyers that are involved in active litigation against the company, a move they say only affects “0.8% percent of New York lawyers” but Davis says has blacklisted entire firms with hundreds of lawyers from the city’s most iconic venues.
“Alleging an organized conspiracy?” Davis scoffed. “He’s the guy who created an enemies list!”
MSG and its controversial owner, James Dolan, have faced heat since last year when lawyers alleged they were stopped from attending events at the Garden, the Beacon Theater, and Radio City Music Hall when they were flagged by facial recognition technology.
Kelly Conlon, who works for Davis’ New Jersey-based firm, said she was chaperoning her daughter’s Girl Scout troop to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular on Thanksgiving weekend, but was flagged and told she couldn’t see the Rockettes. Davis himself was booted out of a Rangers game in December.
Dolan, however, claimed it was his right to ban enemies from his properties, and in an interview threatened to stop serving booze at Knicks and Rangers games entirely if state authorities didn’t back off.
The billionaire businessman and wannabe rock singer claims that the SLA began targeting him after three law firms unsuccessfully challenged the bans in court, and says the outcome was “predetermined” from the get-go. Specifically, Dolan says the high-powered lawyers want to “harass” him into changing the policy of banning opposing legal counsel, and says getting ahold of Stravalle’s communications from Verizon will prove their case.
While Dolan argues the SLA has put a target on his back, in some sense Stravalle could claim the same.
MSG has admitted in court filings that it, too, hired a private investigator to investigate him. The New York Times reported that Stravalle, a part-time investigator and former police captain, caught the private eye tailing his car on the Long Island Expressway in Queens, leading him to call the police who pulled over the tailgater.
In its charges filed in March, the SLA claimed that MSG’s policies mean it is no longer “open to the public,” a requirement for such venues to obtain and keep a liquor license. The Garden says the charges are “ridiculous,” but if the SLA’s board rules against it, MSG could face hefty fines or even the revocation of its permits.
“It’s Dolan’s position that he can still use facial recognition, put his personal enemies on a list, and keep them out of some of the most important venues in the country,” said Davis. “He should not be permitted to use facial recognition and AI to enforce an enemy list. He should not penalize lawyers who are representing people who apparently have meritorious claims.”
The liquor imbroglio comes amid a multi-faceted time of turmoil for the Garden, which is facing pressure to move from the spot atop Penn Station that it’s occupied since 1968. MSG’s special permit to operate an entertainment venue at the site is set to expire in July.
Dolan wants to get it renewed permanently, but in April the local community board opted to recommend conditional approval of their license, extending it for three years with the understanding the Garden would relocate after that. Opponents of the Garden’s residency at 34th Street and 8th Avenue say that its presence kneecaps the state’s ability to rebuild Penn Station from its maligned, cavernous present to a modern, 21st-century train hub. The Garden has signaled some openness to moving across Seventh Avenue.
The community board vote is advisory, and final decisions lay with the City Planning Commission, City Council, and mayor. Several local politicians have gone on record against Dolan, including State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who unsuccessfully helmed an effort to revoke the Garden’s decades-long property tax exemption in this year’s state budget.
“I think it’s unfortunate that once again, civil servants who are trying to do their job are having their professional reputations impugned through this unnecessary litigation,” Hoylman-Sigal told amNewYork Metro of MSG’s lawsuit.
On Monday, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine backed a plan by Italian engineering firm ASTM to keep the Garden on its site while demolishing its 5,600-seat Hulu Theater and encasing the arena in glass, creating new train halls and a “grand” entrance on Eighth Avenue. Achieving those plans could mean permanently extending MSG’s license; the MTA, which operates Long Island Rail Road and subway service out of the terminal it shares with Amtrak and New Jersey Transit, has been lukewarm on the idea.
ASTM is reportedly in talks to purchase the Hulu Theater.
