‘They went to find a party somewhere else.’ Friday night tame on South Beach’s Ocean Drive
After so many out-of-control spring break revelers packed Ocean Drive, leading to days of confrontations with police and a city-imposed 8 p.m. curfew, the South Beach strip proved pretty tame Friday night.
All it took to clear the famed Art Deco strip was a handful of police vehicles with lights and sirens on, unlike the throngs of officers dispatched a week earlier.
As Friday’s 8 p.m. curfew rolled around, a woman twerked briefly in front of a police car before walking off. Soon, the hostesses at the sidewalk cafes retreated. The music turned off. Waiters lugged in tables.
So-called Goodwill ambassadors, volunteers with a county program dispatched to high-traffic events often fraught with tensions with authorities, stopped handing out condoms.
“I don’t know what happened,” said Jose, an ambassador who declined to give his last name. “I guess they went to find a party somewhere else.”
That would include tourists like Samuel Ortiz, who traveled from California and on Friday night began researching night spots across Biscayne Bay in Wynwood.
“I think it’s killing the fun man,” Ortiz said of the curfew. “We’re just getting out of the quarantine. We just spent a bunch of money coming out here. Just let us have some fun. This is bulls---. No problems were being caused.”
Friday night on Miami Beach was filled with less drama than previous nights, and it was not without somber moments.
Vigil for women believed to have been drugged and raped
A few hours before Friday’s 8 p.m. spring break curfew went into effect in South Beach, residents gathered for a vigil to mourn the death of a 24-year-old Pennsylvania tourist who police say was drugged and raped by two North Carolina spring breakers before she was found dead in her hotel room.
The memorial took place outside the Albion Hotel, 1650 James Ave., where Christine Englehardt was staying during her trip to Miami Beach. Attendees placed multi-colored flowers near the sidewalk, observed a moment of silence and listened to a live rendition of “Amazing Grace” by singer Maryel Epps.
No Miami Beach commissioners attended. Miami Beach Black Affairs Advisory Committee Chair Glendon Hall and former City Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez paid their respects.
“This is like someone dying in our home,” said Nick D’Annunzio, 48, a Normandy Isles resident who organized the event with the support of Englehardt’s mother, Doreen.
Englehardt’s death, amid a chaotic spring break in Miami Beach, further saddened and infuriated residents who for weeks have been speaking out against the brawls, crowd stampedes and police confrontations that have marred spring break this year. More than 1,000 arrests have been made since February and police have seized more than 100 guns.
“Our city has gotten out of control in so many ways that I didn’t want her death to be in vain,” D’Annunzio told the Miami Herald. “I wanted it to be an opportunity for people to talk.”
D’Annunzio, who owns a public relations firm, invited Miami Beach commissioners and several social-justice organizations to attend the vigil.
Apart from showing Englehardt’s family that the Miami Beach community mourns with them, D’Annunzio said he wanted to project a message of unity at a time when residents are upset at the city for its handling of spring break crowds. Some Black leaders have also expressed concern about how the city treats tourists of color.
D’Annunzio said he has seen the “racial divide happening,” so he wanted to incorporate voices from across the community to collectively demand public safety reforms during spring break.
“This has to be stamped in our memory and our brain for the rest of our days that we can’t allow this,” he said. “I hope she brings legislation; I hope she brings change.”
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, who said the city was “saddened and upset” for the Englehardt family, told the Herald that the City Commission should act to overhaul South Beach’s hard-partying reputation before more tragedies occur.
“Anyone who loves our city is saddened and upset for their family, first and foremost,” he said. “The question for us is what do we do to stop these kind of tragedies from happening?”
On Friday night, Miami Beach police said the streets were calm.
“We have been seeing fewer crowds and thankfully no significant incidents,” said Miami Beach Police Officer Ernesto Rodriguez, a spokesman.
There were a few flare-ups. Just after 7 p.m. crowds gathered around a street fight involving a group of bicycle-riding Pennsylvania tourists and another man on foot.
The young men, some of whom said they attend the University of Pittsburgh, exchanged punches with the man and drew a crowd of onlookers filming on their cellphone cameras. In the heat of the moment, two of their Citi rental bicycles were stolen and a spontaneous twerk display began.
The young men told the Miami Herald that the other man instigated the fight. They went to police to report the incident.
“It’s not like we’re coming down here looking for a fight,” one of them said.
And not everyone appreciated the city’s crackdown.
An employee at Miami Hookah Headz, a shop that specializes in smoking products, leaned against a light pole on Washington Avenue with his hands behind his head. It was nearly 9 p.m. and he said he was fixated on how much money the shop had lost during the curfews.
“Let’s be real, the people may leave but we’re just stuck with the bill,” said Leo, who declined to give his last name.
But over at Shepherd Artisan Coffee, 20-year-old barista Paula Torres said she was happy to see that the curfew had thinned out crowds in South Beach.
Last weekend, during the peak of spring break, she said crowds became unmanageable — even if they brought in a lot of money to the restaurant. Even though her store closes at 8 p.m. regularly, the curfew had brought more calm to the area, she said
“If it weren’t here, it would be crazy,” she said. “There’s still a lot of people — in a good way.”
This story has been updated to reflect that Friday’s vigil took place outside the Albion Hotel.
This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 6:25 PM.
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