Lawyer suing MSG for banning him got to see Jerry Seinfeld — by disguising himself
Recognize this, James Dolan!
A lawyer who’s suing Madison Square Garden for barring him from entering the venues it owns got to see Jerry Seinfeld at the Beacon Theater — by disguising himself with a scruffy beard and a baseball cap, he told The Post.
Alan Greenberg said he slipped past the facial recognition system set up to flag attorneys involved in lawsuits against MSG — run by CEO Dolan, whose holdings include The Garden, Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theater —in order to see the stand-up comic on Dec. 17.
“I grew the beard to try and fool the facial recognition and wore a baseball cap as well. I was not stopped,” said Greenberg, of Greenberg Law P.S. — which was banned due to a pending case centering on a Rangers fan who was sucker punched at a game.
Greenberg took with him a temporary restraining order stopping MSG from enforcing the ban but said he didn’t want to take any chances.
“I was armed with the temporary restraining order which I was ready to display and brandish if they grabbed me,” Greenberg said after a Manhattan Supreme Court hearing Thursday where a judge extended the restraining order.
His facial hair may have prevented him from getting booted — but not everybody was a fan of his new disheveled look, he said. “My wife said [the beard] ends today, after the hearing.”
Greenberg’s firm sued MSG earlier this month for preventing two of its lawyers from attending shows for which they’d already bought tickets.
On Thursday, Greenberg told Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank, “This is nothing more than intimidation and vindictive behavior and the court as a matter of public policy should declare that.”
Frank said he would extend a temporary restraining order against MSG to allow the lawyers to continue attending events.
“You have the right to your policy, but if your policy itself to me runs afoul of a statute that’s intended to have free people allowed to go and have tickets… That is the rule I’m making here,” he said.
Randy Mastro, lawyer for MSG, had argued that banning lawyers who rep defendants in MSG-related cases is a precautionary measure to protect the company while the cases are ongoing.
“It’s not feasible for any entertainment venue to operate any other way,” he told the judge.
“So many co-op boards in this city would not take me in as a prospective buyer and shareholder because I’m a lawyer, and there’s nothing that I can do about that because they don’t want to be associated with lawyers and litigators who are litigious. This is happening every day in the city.”
MSG Entertainment said later there was no need for the lawyer to go incognito.
“Mr. Greenberg was allowed to attend the Jerry Seinfeld show on Dec. 17, per a recent court order allowing the Greenberg firm’s attorneys to attend concerts and theatrical performances in our venues,” the company said in a statement.
“As a result, he wasn’t active in our facial recognition system and was welcome to enter The Beacon. There was no need for him to wear a disguise. We will continue to vigorously defend and enforce our policy.”
The company added that Thursday’s ruling, “simply maintains the status quo, only continuing the narrow and temporary relief afforded to three [law] firms.”
Lawyers linked to pending cases against MSG entertainment have been kicked out of MSG-own venues in recent weeks.
They include attorney Kelly Conlon, who was flagged by facial recognition and booted from a Rockettes show at Radio City on Nov. 27, and Long Island attorney Alexis Majano who was kicked out of a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 5.
MSG Entertainment has said that it implemented “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.”
