Miami Beach’s all-night party scene must end

As a former mayor and a longtime resident of Miami Beach, I can say without a doubt that it is mission critical to reform Lincoln Road. The question always is, what is the best path is forward?

As the Miami Herald Editorial Board rightly pointed out in its Oct. 30 recommendation of Referenda 5 [in which the writer is a minor partner] and 6, Lincoln Road is on life support and needs an infusion of excitement and investments to save it.

The referenda before the voters offer a blueprint of how the government and the private sector can work together to take on critical challenges. The proposals offered by city staff and supported by the mayor and nearly every commissioner received almost two dozen workshops, committee hearings and a series of commission meetings.

So many in the community are supporting these measures because they know the all-night party scene and the continued over-dependence on tourism must come to end if we are going to save our quality of life. We have a unique moment in Miami Beach’s history where the greatness of the city and the vision laid out by leaders of the past, like Jackie Gleason, can be restored. To do so, however, we must first accept that the status quo is failing residents, and change must come.

This starts in the most iconic strip — Lincoln Road. We can maximize city resources for critical infrastructure like resiliency and public safety while also attracting new businesses that will embrace a live, work and play approach to the area.

Those of us who live in Miami Beach have a real shot to put the terrible headlines of crime behind us and replace them with new ones that showcase our greatest strength — our community. The choice is now up to the voters.

This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 9:43 AM with the headline "Miami Beach’s all-night party scene must end."