New York's Radio City Music Hall, a property of Cablevison Systems Corp., is seen in this photo, Wednesday May 2, 2007. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are teaming up with President Joe Biden for a glitzy reelection fundraiser Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The event brings together more than three decades of Democratic leadership. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
New York’s Radio City Music Hall, a property of Cablevison Systems Corp., is seen in this photo, Wednesday May 2, 2007. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are teaming up with President Joe Biden for a glitzy reelection fundraiser …
A man trying to go to New York City’s Radio City Music Hall claims he was banned from entering due to the venue’s surveillance system, which had him listed over a t-shirt he designed years ago.
Radio City Music Hall is owned by Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG), which in turn is owned by James Dolan. Mr. Dolan also owns the New York Rangers and the New York Knicks basketball team, both of which play at the eponymous sports arena.
Frank Miller Jr. was stopped from entering Radio City Music Hall on Monday, he told The Verge Friday, and staff there explained that he was banned from the company’s properties over a 2021 incident at the Garden.
Mr. Miller was confused at first but then recalled a shirt he designed in 2021, which altered an old Knicks logo to say “Ban Dolan,” as a response to a 2017 incident in which former Knicks player Charles Oakley was removed from his seat.
A friend of Mr. Miller, identified on X as @djnessnyc, was kicked out and banned from the Garden in 2021 after wearing the shirt to a Knicks game. Mr. Miller contends that, having been publicly identified as the shirt’s designer, he was also added to the company’s surveillance list of visitors not allowed to enter MSG-owned venues.
“I’ve been reading articles about this facial recognition stuff that Dolan [and] MSG properties use, but I hadn’t been in or around the Garden outside of Penn Station to take New Jersey Transit [to] Newark Airport in almost 20 years now,” he told The Verge.
MSG Executive Vice President of Communications and Marketing told The Verge that “Frank Miller Jr. made threats against an MSG executive on social media and produced and sold merchandise that was offensive in nature. His behavior was disrespectful and disruptive and in violation of our code of conduct.”
Mr. Miller was there Monday to see a concert with his parents for their 47th anniversary, and also had tickets to a Knicks game on Tuesday; his parents ultimately saw the concert without him and went to the game with a family friend instead.
“I just think it’s amusing that a lowly thousandaire like myself is living rent free in a billionaire’s head. The only part that really bothers me is that my mom was crying,” Mr. Miller told Gothamist.
The incident is not the first time a person had been banned from Radio City Music Hall after being picked up by the surveillance system.
In 2022, Kelly Conlon, a mother visiting the venue with a Girl Scout troop was barred from entry because she was employed by a law firm on the other side of a lawsuit against a restaurant owned by MSG.
“MSG instituted a straightforward policy that precludes attorneys from firms pursuing active litigation against the Company from attending events at our venues until that litigation has been resolved. While we understand this policy is disappointing to some, we cannot ignore the fact that litigation creates an inherently adversarial environment,” MSG told the New York Post at the time.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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