Mark Bergin
Last call for alcohol during part of spring break in South Beach will end two hours earlier than normal.
The Miami Beach City Commission voted 5-2 Wednesday in favor of ending alcohol sales at 3 a.m. from March 13-18 in the city’s entertainment district.
The areas impacted by the new law include bars, restaurants and establishments on Ocean Drive between 5th and 16th streets. Other establishments on Collins Avenue and Washington Avenue are also affected.
Mayor Dan Gelber and commissioners Mark Samuelian, Steven Meiner, Ricky Arriola and David Richardson voted in favor of the measure.
Gelber’s initial proposal called for alcohol sales to end at 2 a.m. during a 17-day period.
“I’m not sure that a rollback is the silver bullet,” Gelber said. “In fact, I’m sure it’s not the silver bullet, but it ought to be in the toolkit.”
Gelber has endured two spring break periods during his tenure as Miami Beach mayor, which began in November 2017.
“Both of these weekends, I’ve gotten a call from two different police chiefs, saying, ‘that the city is poised to be ungovernable,’” Gelber said of his past experiences as mayor during spring break.
To control congestion in previous years, Gelber said the city had to implement lane closures or close traffic on both the MacArthur and Julia Tuttle causeways.
“That’s a pretty significant moment when you have to close your causeways ‘cause you’re worried you can’t control your city,” Gelber said. “To a great extent, public safety drives this debate and drives this discussion.”
The shorter hours will not be in effect during the Winter Party Festival from March 4-10 in Miami Beach or Ultra Music Festival from March 20-22 in Miami. However, the new law will be in effect during the Winter Music Conference held from March 16-19 at Faena Forum in Miami Beach.
Commissioners Michael Góngora and Micky Steinberg voted against the proposal.
Góngora accused Gelber of leaking his plan to media members to try to keep Miami Beach safe during spring break, but it is detrimental to businesses.
“I think the huge turnout of people here today shows that you are punishing innocent people,” Góngora said to Gelber. “You’re taking money out of their pockets and stopping them from working to the tune of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars just to pass your legislation.
“I urge you, please don’t be so insistent that, ‘I’ve got to pass this bill.’”
Góngora also cited a November 2017 failed ballot referendum that would have banned alcohol sales after 2 a.m. year round. Nearly 65% of voters opposed the initiative.
Arriola said he “reluctantly” changed his vote in support of the law because of his respect for Miami Beach Police Chief Rick Clements.
“I think this whole thing is ill-conceived, I think it’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed. I think it embarrasses us as a city,” Arriola said.“I warned against this a year ago and here we are. We gave direction to the administration to do something. They did not come through for us, and this is, to me, a knee-jerk reaction. I think it’s the wrong approach. It’s the wrong direction for so many reasons.”
Arriola said he would have liked to see the city take different approaches to control the chaos of spring break. He called ending alcohol sales early “a puritanical mindset.”
Several business owners spoke against the measure during Wednesday’s city commission meeting.
“We agree with tough love, alright? There’s no problem with that,” said Twist nightclub owner Joel Stedman. “But the tough love should not be centered or geared or focused towards my staff. Alright, these guys are going to lose a lot of money.”
Stedman said his staff would lose about $20,000 under the new law. He also expressed concerns about the potential of thousands of people walking aimlessly when the bars close earlier.
Several others claimed that there were problems in the past with drunken revelers near the beach, not inside establishments.
“The businesses are not the issue here, and to be horse-trading with hours is only damaging our staffs,” Mango’s Tropical Cafe owner David Wallack said.
Wallack said while owners will get by, his staff could lose up to 25% of its income for the week.
The Miami Herald reported the commission voted in January to provide $500,000 of daytime activities scheduled in March to manage beach crowds. The free events bring entertainment off Ocean Drive from Seventh to 10th Streets.
