Madison Square Garden’s Tax Exemption Is a Disservice to NYC

There’s a tacit threat when negotiations with sports venue owners come up: If a plush tax exemption deal isn’t on the table, they’ll leave and take all that precious tax revenue with them.

Madison Square Garden, sitting atop Penn Station in Manhattan, is getting its special occupancy permit reviewed by the city council. The iconic arena has been in the news for facial recognition systems seemingly installed so they can kick out lawyers from firms that have litigated against them. If things get tense, and the arena threatens to move across the Hudson River to New Jersey, there’s a bit ...