Officials in Miami Beach, Florida, are scrambling to find meaningful solutions after another violent spring break highlighted the city’s struggle to control the influx of visitors and the lawlessness that some of them bring.
Months of planning and a police presence that the mayor described as «enormous» were no match for the throngs of college students and other young adults making the annual pilgrimage to the seaside city.
Two people have been fatally shot in recent days, incidents that prompted Miami Beach to declare a state of emergency and enforcing a curfew for the third year in a row.
While spring break is an economic boon for the city’s businesses, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said he’s had enough and believes it’s time for the city to take decisive action before more are lost. lives.
“We are not going to arrest our way out of this. We’re going to have to prevent spring break from happening here. That is the best we can do,” she said.
However, «that’s a very difficult thing to do,» Gelber added.
Police are ‘outnumbered’
Every March, tens of thousands of people flock to Miami Beach to enjoy the Florida sun and party.
The city offers them a line of programs that includes concerts and sports tournaments, alternatives to traditional drinking, and street walks along the iconic Ocean Drive. It also brings in police officers from other jurisdictions to keep visitors safe.
“No one takes a day off during spring break. They’re all here. We have officers from the county, officers from other cities, officers on horseback, officers on ATVs, sometimes the police from the school district are here. We have goodwill ambassadors walking around in T-shirts to try to help people follow the rules and make good decisions,” Gelber said.
During peak days, up to 470 officers are on the streets, and yet there were more than 320 arrests before a state of emergency was declared Sunday, authorities said.
Police are “outnumbered by a lawless crowd that simply cannot be controlled,” said Alex J. Fernandez, one of Miami Beach’s six elected commissioners.
Gelber pointed to several factors, including the size and age of the crowds, as well as the presence of firearms.
As of Monday, 71 weapons had been removed from the streets, he said.
Four of them were kidnapped after friday shooting left one person dead and another in critical condition, police said. Two other firearms were seized after a man was killed early Sunday morning. Arrests were made in both incidents.
In March 2021, spring break crowds were blamed for fights that police had to break up and sparked the first state of emergency.
Around the same weekend last March, Miami Beach implemented its second state of emergency after five bystanders were hospitalized in two random shootings.
An economic blessing
Despite the chaos of the past few years, some local businesses continue to welcome the crowds. While this year’s numbers are not yet available, spring break traditionally injects a lot of money into Miami Beach’s economy every year.
Ahead of an emergency meeting on Monday where commissioners considered another curfew for this weekend, the owners of the M2 nightclub criticized the proposal. in a instagram postthey invited their more than 5,000 supporters to the gathering, urging them to “tell the mayor to keep South Beach open” and calling the curfew “BS.”
During the meeting, other business owners who oppose the curfew spoke about the officials.
“There is no communication between the public and private sectors! The police did a good job. The companies did a good job. They are all innocent,” a man yelled at the Municipal Commission and the mayor.
Still, Fernández said, he has spoken with businesses that are already willing to close their doors for spring break festivities next year, either forcibly or voluntarily.
“Early Sunday night, I got a call from a business owner saying that around 7:30 pm there was a stampede at his restaurant. Customers were hiding under tables and his employees did not feel safe, and that forced him to close his business,” he said.
“He said he was willing to voluntarily close his business early next year again this weekend, because they realize the safety of their employees comes before profits,” Fernandez added.
Sam Hall, a real estate agent and founder of MiamiParties.com, said he doesn’t want the spring break festivities to end entirely, but he supports additional security measures.
He suggested establishing police checkpoints on the bridges leading to South Beach to «make it safer for residents and tourists coming into the city.»
“It would be an impediment for criminals to enter knowing that they are going to be stopped on the way. I would also control the size of the crowd, which I think is another issue,” he said.
‘It’s about life and safety’
The proposal for a new curfew failed in a 4-3 vote at Monday’s emergency commission meeting.
Some commissioners raised concerns about the economic impact the curfew would have on businesses during one of the busiest times of the spring season. They also worried that it would likely have an impact on the Ultra Music Festival, an electronic dance music event that kicks off this week and draws thousands of people to the area.
A compromise amendment passed on a 6-1 vote, granting the city manager state of emergency powers, but only to restrict alcohol sales at local liquor stores starting at 6 p.m. this weekend.
At least one business owner threatened to sue in light of the alcohol sales restriction.
“This is not the way to solve it. If you’re going to shut me up, be fair. Close Ocean Drive completely, the bars, and be fair,” said Jorge Zubigaray, owner of Gulf Liquors on Alton Road. nbc miami. He said the restriction would cost him $20,000 for the weekend.
“We are doing an emergency injunction with the courts,” he said. «With…Ultra and spring break, it will affect my business.»
Fernández, one of three members who supported the curfew, said limiting alcohol sales is not enough.
“This is like acknowledging that we have a problem, but we don’t want to take bold action because we don’t want to piss off major businesses in our city,” he said.
Fernández said that he is already brainstorming measures he hopes the city will implement measures to curb the chaos of spring break.
He plans to present a proposal at next Monday’s commission meeting that includes establishing a preventive curfew, closing businesses early and reducing alcohol sales.
“Closing businesses a few hours early isn’t as bad for our economy and their profits as it is for people not to feel safe because they see stories about people dying on the streets and they see images on social media of someone being shot in soil. That has a horrible and lasting impact on the image of an otherwise safe city,” Fernández said.
“This is not about dollars and cents. It’s about life and safety. What’s worse for our economy is the image of blood being washed off our sidewalk,” she added.
Miami Beach Police Chief Richard M Clements He told Monday’s meeting that there are several logistical and legal obstacles to setting up checkpoints and metal detectors.
“We cannot continue, year after year, reacting after someone dies, then we impose a curfew and an emergency order. That was what happened in 2021. That was what happened in 2022. And that was what happened this year,” Fernández said.