A Long Island attorney says he was kicked out of a Knicks game after getting flagged by facial recognition technology at Madison Square Garden — the same system the company used to boot another lawyer from a Rockettes show.
“I was upset — we had a whole night planned out that got botched,” said lawyer Alexis Majano, 28. “I said, ‘This is ridiculous.'”
Majano — whose law firm has a pending lawsuit against Madison Square Garden Entertainment in an unrelated matter — was headed into the game against the Celtics with pals on Nov. 5 when he was stopped on an escalator, he said.
“A gentleman in a suit stopped me and said, “Are you Alexis Majano? The manager wants to speak with you,” he said. “I noticed security had blocked off the exit.”
One of the workers, who was decked out with a body cam, informed him that the conversation “was being recorded” — then began to grill him, he said.
Majano said the employee asked if he works for the law firm Sahn Ward Braff Koblenz — which recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of a fan who fell from a Skybox at Madison Square Garden during a Billy Joel concert.
Majano, who works for the firm but isn’t involved in the case, said the worker had a long list of attorneys he’d apparently been instructed to kick out.
“He handed me a list of 20 to 30 pages of random names and firms. He asked me … ’Do you work for Sahn Ward? Are you an attorney?’ I said yes,” Majano said.
“They explained very briefly: Any firms with litigation against MSG are banned,” he continued. “I was shocked.”
When Majano asked the worker how the venue had identified him, “He said, ‘We caught you on facial recognition.”
“I was fairly certain they were right because I didn’t show ID — the tickets didn’t have my name on them,” he said.
The employee then forced Majano to leave, spoiling his plans for the night, Majano said.
The ordeal came weeks before another lawyer, Kelly Conlon, was flagged by facial recognition technology and booted from Radio City, which is among Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan’s holdings.
Conlon, 44, was chaperoning her 9-year-old daughter’s Girl Scout troop at the Radio City Christmas Spectacular on Nov. 27 when was refused entry despite holding a ticket.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment later said it had “instituted a straightforward policy that precludes attorneys from firms pursuing active litigation against the company from attending events.”
Rob Abiuso, 55, a partner at the firm where Majano works, said he’s now considering taking legal action on behalf of Majano.
“This is palpably improper,” he said. “Prevent me from going in, I’m the attorney [on the case],” he said. “But to indict the entire firm?”
“I’m seriously contemplating commencing an action against them,” he said. “I’m furious.”
MSG Entertainment told The Post Wednesday the policy still stands.
“All impacted attorneys were notified of the policy. We continue to make clear that impacted attorneys will be welcomed back to our venues upon resolution of the litigation,” it said in a statement.
“We have always made it clear to our guests and to the public that we use facial recognition as one of our tools to provide a safe and secure environment for our customers and ourselves,” the company added.
