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DANIEL SQUADRON
SENATOR, 26TH DISTRICT

THE SENATE
STATE OF NEW YORK

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October 15, 2015

Devin Wenig
President and CEO
eBay
2145 Hamilton Avenue.
San Jose, California 95125
Jim Buckmaster
CEO
Craigslist
1381 9th Avenue
San Francisco, California 94122
Dear Mr. Wenig and Mr. Buckmaster,
I write regarding ticket listings on your websites for the following two charitable events in New
York City:

Change Begins Within, featuring Jerry Seinfeld, Sting, and Katy Perry, benefiting the
David Lynch Foundation, on November 4th at Carnegie Hall.
Baby Buggys 15th Anniversary Celebration, featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Amy Schumer,
on November 16th at the Beacon Theatre.

Although tickets for these events have face-values starting at $150 and $130 respectively, as of
this writing, there are multiple tickets listed at above face-value on your websites, including
some for over $1000 a ticket. I strongly urge you to remove all tickets listed at above face-value
for these benefits to prevent profiteering from charitable events.
Since 2012, I have sponsored legislation in New York State that would prohibit the practice of
reselling tickets for more than their face-value if the event is for charity. This was in response to
the 12-12-12 concert, which was supposed to benefit the Robin Hood Foundations effort to help
Sandy victims. Instead, ticket resellers purchased blocks of tickets and resold those tickets at a
massive profit, lining their own pockets.
In addition to the 12-12-12 concert, Billy Joel performed a charity concert to benefit Long Island
Cares in 2013, where tickets were resold online for up to $4,000. This past May, the MusiCares
MAP Fund hosted a benefit concert, headlined by Billy Idol and Joan Jett, and tickets were
resold for upwards of $1,250. In June 2015, tickets for a one night only performance of
Bombshell the Musical to benefit The Actors Fund were posted for up to $2,305 on Stubhub.

Most recently, free tickets distributed for Pope Francis Central Park Procession were listed for
hundreds of dollars on your websites. After urging from myself, Cardinal Dolan, Senator
Schumer, and other colleagues in government, those tickets were removed.
Profiting from charity events is not fair to the artists who donate their time or, most importantly,
the intended beneficiaries of these events. By removing tickets that seek to profit from these
benefits, you will send a strong message that events like these should not be hijacked by
profiteers. Should you have any further questions, please contact my office directly at (212) 2985565.

Sincerely,

Daniel Squadron
State Senator
26th Senate District

ALBANY OFFICE: 515 LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING, ALBANY, NY 12247, (518) 455-2625
MANHATTAN OFFICE: 250 BROADWAY, SUITE 2011, NEW YORK, NY 10007, (212) 298-5565
BROOKLYN OFFICE: 209 JORALEMON ST. ROOM 310, BROOKLYN, NY 11201 (718) 875-1517