‘Save jobs.’ South Beach hospitality workers protest 2 a.m. booze ban outside City Hall
As city commissioners took steps Wednesday to create more regulations for clubs and bars, more than 100 South Beach hospitality workers marched to City Hall to speak out against a citywide referendum that seeks to gauge support for a push to roll back alcohol sales to 2 a.m. from 5 a.m.
The protesters, who work at late-night clubs like Mango’s Tropical Cafe and the Clevelander, waved signs, wore matching T-shirts and shouted their opposition to any attempt at shutting down booze sales early.
Mango’s owner David Wallack led the crowd — estimated to be at least 170 workers and business leaders — in chants of “Stop the Lies” and “Vote No, Save Jobs.”
It was a repeat of a 2017 rally workers held the last time a 2 a.m. booze ban was on the ballot.
Wallack and others in the crowd challenged the argument made by proponents of the 2 a.m. shut-off, including Mayor Dan Gelber, that the late-night business model has contributed to the crime and disorder that has upset residents and led to international news coverage.
“We were all closed in 2020, I mean we were all closed 100% and still crime soared,” Wallack said. “How is that possible if we are to blame?”
Crime actually went down in 2020, according to Miami Beach Police data, a decrease police said was a COVID outlier. However, a pandemic curfew closed bars and clubs at midnight well into 2021 as a raucous spring break renewed calls to roll back alcohol service.
Dueling PACs
The referendum — pushed by Gelber and his allies on the City Commission while warning about disorder in South Beach — is a non-binding straw ballot question. It asks voters if they would support changing the 5 a.m. closing time to 2 a.m. throughout the city “with specific locations and related restrictions and exceptions, to be determined” by the City Commission.
Gelber said he would support exemptions for indoor businesses within large hotels. That would still leave Mango’s and other clubs to close early.
Wallack and others said they believe the proposed 2 a.m. ban is part of an attempt by the city to close Ocean Drive businesses and invite developers to snap up the devalued land. The closure of Ocean Drive to vehicles, he said, was part of the effort.
“They are choking it on purpose,” Wallack said. “What is the purpose? Destroy the businesses, destroy the real estate values, and look at what a developer can do. They can just buy it up for 50 cents on the dollar.”
The political committee Citizens for a Safer Miami Beach organized the event one week after hosting seniors at Mango’s for a similar political rally, a spokesman for the group said. The committee is financially backed by South Beach clubs like Mango’s, Twist and the Clevelander.
The group relaunched last month after running a similar campaign — with almost identical yard signs — in 2017 opposing a binding referendum that would have banned alcohol sales after 2 a.m. from Fifth to 15th Street on Ocean Drive, except for the “indoor portions of alcoholic beverage establishments that are completely enclosed and located entirely within hotels.” Voters rejected the 2017 referendum, with 65% opposing the 2 a.m. rollback.
The pro-2 a.m. campaign, organized by the political committee Yes for a Safer Miami Beach, sent voters an email after the protest Wednesday with a message from Gelber: “Ocean Drive operators will say anything to protect their profits, even if it means continuing the chaos and violence in their party district.”
But the employees who protested Wednesday said they were concerned about losing their jobs if voters approve the 2 a.m. referendum and give city officials momentum to pursue stricter laws.
Mario Trejo, a bartender at Twist and a Miami Beach resident, said the 2 a.m. ban would “demolish” the gay Washington Avenue nightclub and force him to find a second job. The busiest hours at Twist are from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m., he said, and his usual shift sees him working until 5 a.m.
“We work solely on tips, so it would really change our livelihoods,” he said. “I definitely would have to look for other employment to supplement it if we close at 2 a.m.”
He said it is illogical to blame Twist or other late-night businesses for the crime happening in South Beach. He encouraged the commissioners to visit South Beach after 2 a.m. to see firsthand what is happening in their city before proposing business restrictions.
Trejo said the city is “passing the buck” and should focus on getting control of crime by hiring more police and developing a plan to better organize the area.
“They’re putting the blame on us, and it’s not happening. It’s the contrary. We are the safe haven for all these people,” he said.
“I know that for a fact they’re not out at 2 a.m. and I would love for them to come,” he said.
New club regulations could be on the way
Gelber, who spoke to reporters during the meeting, said he would listen to the concerns expressed by hospitality workers but maintained that the city should not be “held hostage to a business model that creates an incredible amount of disorder.”
“We have sent so many police, we have borrowed police from other places, we have created what looks like an encampment and still the number of arrests is startling, the number of incidents are unsettling and the disorder is something that residential communities like ours should not have to endure,” Gelber told the Herald.
Before the protest, commissioners gave preliminary approval Wednesday morning to a new law that would require bars with a 5 a.m. license to notify the police of any “promoted event or concert” within 96 hours of the event.
The notice would, the proposal says, include information about the number of tickets sold, the entertainer, and the promoter of the event. It would carry a $1,000 fine for failing to notify police of promoted events.
Wallack and Twist owner Joel Stedman said they hoped before a final vote on the law, commissioners would specify if the requirement is only for large events, not in-house entertainment or ladies’ night deals that the clubs may promote on social media.
“On first reading it sounds just super vague; they’re going to have to get some details on that,” Stedman said.
Wallack said the police should be notified about concerts and larger events that bring an “impact” to the city.
Commissioner Michael Góngora, who raised those concerns, said he thinks the ordinance can be helpful to the police but is “overly broad” in its current format.
“I think this was intended for special events and the way it’s written right now it could be any regular night at a club or bar, and they don’t want to get a fine because they’re doing their regular 2-for-1 Thursdays,” he said.
Commissioners took additional steps at Wednesday’s meeting to address concerns they have about noise and public safety in the city. They voted in favor of permitting code inspectors to issue noise violations to motorists, bicyclists or boaters playing music that is “unreasonably loud” without a warning first as currently required. A final binding vote is needed, and commissioners disagreed on whether to keep the fine at $250 or increase it to $500, as was proposed by the sponsors of the item, commissioners Mark Samuelian and Steven Meiner.
Commissioners also voted, on first reading, for two proposals directing the city attorney’s office to prosecute criminal cases where the perpetrator has a prior charge and to appeal those cases if dismissed by a judge, and directing their attorneys to use stay-away orders to “address quality of life offenses.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 3:17 PM.
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