Tourists stroll through South Beach, as mayor says curfew rules could last 3 more weeks
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said Tuesday businesses and residents should expect weekend curfews and traffic restrictions to continue at least for the next three weeks to curb spring break chaos in South Beach, as rowdy tourists continued the party on Ocean Drive into the work week.
The problems appeared to mount for the city this week after South Beach residents announced they were holding a weekend demonstration, which is supported by former Miami Beach City Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, to protest the city’s response to the mayhem in the entertainment district. It also comes at a time when travelers in major Florida tourism hubs like Miami are likely driving a slow rise in new COVID-19 infections over the past weeks.
“I think we’re going to get through it in the next three weeks,” Gelber said during a virtual meeting with the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, where he also addressed concerns from business owners and residents that the measures are hurting locals.
The current curfew — which affects only the area between 5th and 16th streets, from Ocean Drive west to Pennsylvania Avenue — starts at 8 p.m. every night from Thursday to Sunday. On all other weekdays, it starts at midnight. Sidewalk cafes and restaurants with expanded outdoor seating will also be closed from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. from Thursday to Sunday.
“I don’t think it’s a perfect solution, by the way. The curfew is only in a small area, and so, you know, it doesn’t solve everything. But I think it was an important step to take because we have to ... have order in the city, and second, we have to let people know we’re not just letting it continue.”
Pamela Alvarez, a cigar vendor in South Beach, said she’s been selling cigarettes and cigars on Ocean Drive for four years. In Spanish, she said the crowds Tuesday were much better than last week.
“Fue horrible,” she said, which means “it was horrible.”
Last weekend, as police threw pepper balls at crowds of visitors on the iconic corridor, hundreds of others were gridlocked in traffic for hours on the Julia Tuttle Causeway and the MacArthur Causeway. Police were instructed to check each car individually to limit access to residents, hotel guests and employees working in the city. On Sunday night, tourists again flooded South Beach and, much to the dismay of residents, continued to party in the surrounding neighborhoods past the 8 p.m. curfew.
Meanwhile, Gelber mentioned that videos of lawless South Beach partiers have been circulating in news outlets around the world, something he emphasized was not good for the city’s brand.
“These are older folks and I think you need to know that there is gun play and we collected 100 guns,” said Gelber. “We’ve got videos everywhere of the kind of content that nobody wants to be associated with in their community.”
On Tuesday night, the city issued updated guidelines that set a later time of 10 p.m. for non-residents to access the Beach via the MacArthur, Venetian and Tuttle causeways. Eastbound lanes will be closed starting at 10 p.m. through 6 a.m., where police will set up one lane for visitors and another lane for residents, public transportation, deliveries and employees of Miami Beach businesses.
There will be no checkpoint on the Tuttle causeway. Police are deploying license plate readers and cars won’t be stopped unless their license plate is alerted.
Last weekend, The Clevelander South Beach announced that it was closing its doors temporarily because patrons had caused a stampede in the restaurant. Neighboring businesses were also trashed during street fights and walking out on expensive bills. The restaurant said they were reopening on Wednesday but would have “zero tolerance against violence and firearms.”
On Tuesday, easygoing crowds and some families strolled down Ocean Drive in the early evening. Restaurants with makeshift patios on the street had just started to fill up. People walked by holding liquor bottles and wireless speakers, taking photos and flirting with each other. Stuntmen on bikes popped wheelies through crowds.
“It’s nice,” said Pariis London, a 17-year-old from Michigan who was visiting with six of her best friends. “We’ve just been walking on the beach.”
She said she had learned about the 8 p.m. weekend curfew through an Instagram account but said that it did not affect their plans to travel.
Gelber said during Tuesday’s virtual meeting that there have been very serious incidents in the past several weeks. While he said the events were a reminder to leaders that longer term solutions are necessary, he justified the city’s response so far.
“We don’t want something even worse to happen and then say, ‘OK, now we’ll do something,’” Gelber said. “We don’t want those scenes. We need order in this city and it’s that simple.”
A Miami Beach Police officer stationed on Lummus Park near 9th Street, who declined to give his name, said this was the wildest Spring Break he’s seen in his 21 years on the force. He said cops need a break because many haven’t had a day off.
“I grew up on the beach and this is the worst I’ve seen it,” he said.
The officer defended his department and said that officers are lax and tolerant of party behavior.
“We’ve seen it all,” he said. “We’re probably the most easygoing cops in the State of Florida.”
He warned the beach would get rowdier by the weekend.
“The party’s not over,” he said.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 8:55 PM.
