TL;DR: The New York City Council's Committee on Technology heard testimony on March 3, 2026 on two bills that would ban facial recognition in private spaces. Int 0213-2026 (Hanif) would prohibit businesses from scanning customer faces. Int 0428-2026 (Sanchez) would ban landlords from requiring biometric entry systems. Privacy groups rallied at City Hall. Business groups want regulation, not a ban. If passed, NYC becomes the largest US city to restrict private-sector facial recognition.
What the Bills Would Do
Two bills are moving through the City Council. Both target private-sector facial recognition, not NYPD, not government. Businesses and landlords.[1]
Int 0213-2026 (Hanif)
Bans any "public accommodation" (stores, theaters, concert venues, supermarkets) from using biometric recognition to identify or verify customers. No more face scans at checkout. No more arena entry via facial match.[1]
Int 0428-2026 (Sanchez)
Prohibits landlords from installing, activating, or using biometric recognition technology to identify tenants or their guests. If you live in an apartment building, your landlord can't require you to scan your face to get in.[1]
Both bills have exemptions. Specialty retailers that need biometric tech for their core business (like a shoe store using gait analysis) would be allowed to continue with proper consent and data security policies.[2]
The March 3 Hearing
The Committee on Technology heard testimony on both bills. Councilmember Shahana Hanif, the prime sponsor of Int 0213, made the case for urgency.[2]
"Since this bill was heard last session, there have been countless developments that have made the passage of this bill more urgent than ever, including wrongful arrests and data leaks," Hanif said. She cited the FTC's December finding that Rite Aid "used facial recognition technology to falsely and disproportionately identify thousands of people of color and women as likely shoplifters."[2]
The day before the hearing, a coalition including S.T.O.P. (Surveillance Technology Oversight Project), the NYCLU, the Legal Aid Society, and Amnesty International rallied on the steps of City Hall.[3]
One advocate put it simply: Citizens "should not have to give up their biometric privacy in order to go grocery shopping or enter their apartment buildings."[3]
The MSG Debacle
If you want to understand why these bills exist, look at Madison Square Garden.
In June 2022, MSG Entertainment enacted a policy using facial recognition to identify and ban lawyers from any law firm suing the company. They scraped attorney headshots from firm websites, fed them into recognition software, and turned their arenas into no-go zones for anyone representing MSG's legal opponents.[4]
The policy made national news when a lawyer trying to take her daughter's Girl Scout troop to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular was stopped at the door. The system flagged her face. Security ejected her.[4]
Attorney General Letitia James demanded answers. A state court judge ruled the policy violated anti-discrimination law. Then an appeals court reversed that ruling: MSG can ban lawyers who sue them.[5]
The message was clear: absent legislation, companies can use facial recognition to punish anyone they want.
Wegmans Starts Scanning Shoppers
In January 2026, Wegmans posted new signage at its Manhattan and Brooklyn stores: the grocery chain is now collecting biometric data on everyone who enters.[6]
The signs mentioned facial recognition, eye scans, and voiceprints. Wegmans later said it only collects facial data, not retinal scans or voice prints. But the damage was done.[7]
Wegmans says it uses the technology to identify "individuals who have previously been flagged for misconduct" and occasionally assists law enforcement on missing person or criminal cases.[6]
Councilmember Hanif cited Wegmans in the March 3 hearing as evidence that biometric surveillance is spreading.[2]
Wegmans isn't alone. Walmart, Kroger, Home Depot, and other major retailers use facial recognition on customers, often without clear disclosure.[6]
The Landlord Problem
Int 0428 targets residential buildings. This isn't hypothetical. Landlords have tried this before.
In 2019, tenants at Atlantic Plaza Towers in Brownsville, Brooklyn discovered their landlord, Nelson Management Group, planned to install facial recognition at building entrances. Over 130 rent-stabilized tenants filed legal opposition with New York State's Homes and Community Renewal.[8]
They won. The landlord backed down.[9]
But not every tenant has the resources to fight. Research from NYU's Anti-Eviction Lab found that facial recognition entry systems "are often deployed along rezoning borders" and can be used to catch tenants for petty lease violations: a gentrification tool dressed up as security.[10]
New York City already has the Tenant Data Privacy Act, which requires landlords to obtain written consent before collecting biometric data. But that law doesn't ban the practice outright. Int 0428 would.[8]
Business Groups Push Back
The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce submitted testimony opposing an outright ban. They want regulation instead.[11]
The Security Industry Association echoed that line. Spokesperson Jake Parker warned that the ban would "rob consumers of the choice to use more secure and convenient methods to verify their identity."[2]
Parker pointed to Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which includes a private right of action, meaning individuals can sue for violations. He warned that similar laws could "devastate small businesses."[2]
The retail industry frames facial recognition as an anti-theft tool. They argue that organized shoplifting and "repeat violent offenders" require aggressive countermeasures.[11]
Privacy advocates counter that these systems disproportionately misidentify Black and brown people. The Rite Aid case proved it: the FTC found the pharmacy chain's facial recognition flagged innocent people of color as shoplifters at vastly higher rates.[2]
What Happens Next
Both bills remain in the Committee on Technology. Chair Jennifer Gutierrez will decide when to hold a vote.[2]
If they pass, NYC becomes the largest US city to ban private-sector facial recognition. That matters because New York is a template. What passes here gets copied elsewhere.
San Francisco banned government use of facial recognition in 2019. Oakland and Portland followed. But those bans targeted police, not businesses. NYC's bills would expand protection to private spaces: everywhere you shop, everywhere you live.[12]
The hearing is done. The rally is over. Now comes the lobbying.
What You Can Do
- Contact your council member: Find them at council.nyc.gov/districts and tell them to support Int 0213 and Int 0428.
- Report facial recognition: If you see biometric signage at a store or apartment building, document it. S.T.O.P. at stopspying.org tracks deployments.
- Know your rights: Under NYC's Tenant Data Privacy Act, landlords must get written consent before collecting biometric data and must offer an alternative entry method.[8]
- Stay informed: Follow the Committee on Technology via the NYC Council website for vote announcements.
References
- Fox 5 NY - These bills could ban NYC landlords and businesses from using facial recognition technology (March 2026)
- StateScoop - NYC again considers banning biometric tech for businesses, residential buildings
- S.T.O.P. - Council Member, Advocates Rally Against Facial Recognition (March 2, 2026)
- NY Attorney General - AG James Seeks Information from Madison Square Garden Regarding Use of Facial Recognition
- NBC New York - Madison Square Garden's Ban on Lawyers Can Remain in Place, Court Rules
- CNN - Wegmans is scanning your face at some stores. It's not the only company (January 2026)
- Gothamist - NYC Wegmans is storing biometric data on shoppers' eyes, voices and faces
- Privacy Rights Clearinghouse - Can my landlord require me to use facial recognition or biometric entry systems?
- Fast Company - How we fought our landlord's secretive plan for facial recognition, and won
- NYU Anti-Eviction Lab - Landlord Technologies of Gentrification
- Manhattan Chamber of Commerce - Chamber calls on NYC Council to regulate, not ban, biometric security tools (March 2, 2026)
- Ban the Scan - Campaign to stop facial recognition surveillance