Miami Beach Approves Earlier Bar Closing Times For Spring Break

MIAMI BEACH, FL — With only two weeks to go before throngs of scantily clad visitors begin descending on this urban resort for the annual spring break rite of passage, city officials approved a measure Wednesday by a vote of 5-2 that would force some bars along iconic Ocean Drive to close two hours earlier during the peak traffic period.

"Unlike previous attempts at this, I don’t think this is a silver bullet to solve the problem, which is why we've done so many other things but I think it's part of the toolkit to address it," conceded Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, who introduced the measure and argued for an even earlier closing time. "It’s something that will allow us to tamp down the worst two weeks."

The measure, which is still subject to a second vote on Feb. 26, will be implemented over a 12-day period in March. Those bars affected by the measure will be forced to close at 3 a.m, two hours earlier than normal.

In addition to Ocean Drive, the measure would also affect bars on parts of Collins Ave, Washington Avenue and Espanola Way, according to city officials.

Here's how the commissioners voted on the measure:

• Steven Meiner (Group 4): Yes
• Mark Samuelian (Group 2): Yes
• Ricky Arriola (Group 5): No
• David Richardson (Group 6): Yes
• Michael Góngora (Group 3): Yes
• Micky Steinberg (Group 1): Yes
• Mayor Gelber: Yes

Commissioner Arriola, who voted against the measure, blamed city Manager Jimmy Morales for failing to come up with a viable plan for counter programming during spring break.

"We didn't get a plan till six weeks ago, and it was super half baked," he said. "Now, the only thing that we have to actually vote on for spring break is a [3 a.m.] shut down. None of us feel comfortable that this is going to be an actual solution to the problem. I feel like we were misled. We were manipulated. A year ago, we told you what we wanted and you didn't give it to us."

This wasn't the first time the issue of closing bars earlier along the entertainment strip has come up in the city. Miami Beach residents overwhelmingly voted in a 2017 ballot referendum to keep 5 a.m. liquor sales along iconic Ocean Drive.

Proponents of changing the time, including then Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, insisted that an earlier closing time for bars on the strip would reduce crime. But one study estimated that the city stood to lose 5,500 jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue had the measure passed.

The vote was 64.7 percent in favor of the measure and 35.29 percent opposed. That translated to 7,635 voters opposed to an earlier closing time and only 4,164 voters in favor.

Some business owners complained at Wednesday's meeting that much of their revenue comes during the hours just before closing.

Other people questioned why officials had not considered the measure before many people have already booked their travel plans.

David Wallack, who owns Mango's Tropical Cafe, one of the best known restaurants and bars on Ocean Drive, told commissioners that nearby Fort Lauderdale took an economic hit when the city cracked down on spring break.

"Fort Lauderdale went through a 30-year depression. They dropped off the face of the earth," Wallack insisted. "We are loaded with hotels. We are known throughout the world since the 30s as the world's playground. That was what differentiated us from other big tourism communities in the world."

He said the fact that Ocean Drive is along a public beach is what makes it difficult to control. "You can't just stop people from coming in," he said. "You have to allow everybody to come in."

Ruben Roberts, president of the Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP, said he feared the change might lead to more arrests.

"Where are the people going to go?" he asked. "I feel that they will be out and about walking aimlessly. One of the things that's going to happen is there are going to be more arrests ... My major concern is disproportionately, the people that will be arrested, will be African-American people."

In a departure from past practice, Miami Beach police last year launched an unprecedented crackdown during spring break to regain control of the beach as specially outfitted police officers confronted people who flagrantly violated alcohol and marijuana laws.

Miami Beach officials passed as many as 13 separate ordinances targeting problems stemming from last year's spring break, according to Commissioner Gongora, who voted against Wednesday's measure.

"We spent a really significant amount of time last year trying to gear up and prepare for this year's spring break," he said. "If the message was the party's over, then we should have done this before they booked their trips here, not like get here and surprise: The party you thought you were coming to isn't quite the same thing."