CNN
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Spring break may be over in Miami Beach, but it's not quite here yet. It is a complex and sometimes harmful event.
City officials and business owners have had to balance billions of dollars generated by tourism with years of chaotic crowds and spring break violence. Two mass shootings in 2023 led to a state of emergency and late-night curfew in the popular college party venue.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week dispatched 140 state troopers across the Sunshine State, including 45 to Miami Beach, to curtail rowdy spring breakers during the annual ritual. Then he announced.
This tough love includes hefty fines, curfews, bag searches, beach access restrictions, DUI checkpoints, $100 parking fees, non-resident towing fees over $500, and more for the City of Miami Beach. This was realized in the midst of the disbandment movement.
00:50 – Source: CNN
Miami Beach wants to break up after spring break
“This isn't working anymore,” the young actor said in a viral YouTube video announcing the “Farewell” campaign. “And it's not us. It's you. We just want something different.”
For David Wallach, owner of Mango's Tropical Cafe in South Beach, their longtime love-hate relationship reached a breaking point after a series of incidents last March.
“That was like the last straw for me,” Wallach said.
The mayhem also unfolded outside Mango's, which was packed with diners and revelers both inside and outside. This restaurant and club overlooking the beach is one of Miami Beach's famous nightspots and has been an Ocean Drive establishment for over 30 years.
Wallach said there were multiple attacks in the area last spring.Crazy rush can be caused by fights, screams and firecrackers And of course the gunshots He said.
CNN
David Wallach outside Mango's Tropical Cafe on Ocean Drive in South Beach.
“Hundreds of people were running in panic,” Wallach recalled. “Tables and chairs fly away. People have to run for their lives.”
He thought about closing his shop. “But as time passes, month after month, you soften. Then you start to have hope again.”
During a visit to Miami Beach on Tuesday, the Republican governor stood with Miami Beach Mayor Stephen Miner and announced the deployment of state troopers to increase security.
“Florida is a very welcoming state. Please come and have a good time. What we do not welcome is criminal activity. What we do not welcome is disorder or wreaking havoc on our communities. These are the people who are trying to cause it,” DeSantis told reporters.
“Don't get me wrong, if you're here to enjoy Florida and have a good time, that's fine. If you're here for these other reasons, if you're coming here for a crime… If you commit a crime and cause havoc, you will pay the price and we will hold you accountable.”
Officers assisted multiple local law enforcement agencies, with a 24-officer rapid response team in the state's most popular spring break destinations: Panama City, Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami/Miami Beach. I'm planning on waiting.
Police officers will assist with crowd control, drunk driving checkpoints, license plate reading and traffic control.
“Enough is enough,” Miner told reporters.
The Miami City Commission last month approved a series of measures to strengthen public safety during spring break, including security screenings at beach entrances, increased DUI checks and increased law enforcement presence in Miami and other jurisdictions. .
“All Miami Beach Police Department officers will be working a minimum of 13 hours and a maximum of 16 hours per day during spring break,” Chief Wayne Jones told CNN.
“We have more police than ever before. We have more restrictions than ever before,” he said. “The goal is not to spoil the fun for kids coming on spring break. The goal is to keep people safe.”
Last Friday, March 17, a riot erupted in South Beach during St. Patrick's Day festivities and Spring Break parties, leaving one person dead and another injured, authorities said. Police said four firearms were recovered.
Later that same weekend, Miami Beach police said one person was shot and killed and another injured, prompting city officials to declare a state of emergency and impose a curfew.
In 2022, the city of Miami Beach similarly imposed a late-night curfew after two mass shootings on Ocean Drive during spring break left five people injured.
On CNN Sunday morning, Miner was asked about an op-ed in the Miami Herald, saying, “I think it's a good idea to rent out parking lots or close public parking lots for two days on weekends when black and brown people gather.'' It's discriminatory.”
“We are committed to keeping people safe,” the mayor said. “Last year, two black men were shot and killed on our streets, and I can tell you this is heartbreaking. It hurts when someone gets hurt on our streets. We feel we have a moral and ethical obligation to keep everyone safe.”
Meiner defended the stricter measures, which will be implemented during the busy second and third weeks of this month.
“We faced the biggest problems in the second and third weeks of March, so we took stronger measures,” he said.
He added: “I'm very happy with the steps we're taking and very proud of what we're doing.”
Jones said the long, narrow barrier island's size helped control large crowds.
“The biggest issue with spring break is simple capacity. We're bursting at the seams,” Jones said. “To control that, we have to reduce the number of people who come here during spring break. So…we say goodbye on spring break. We hope it's an amicable farewell. We want people to have fun.” We want them to have a good time. We don't really want them to not follow our rules.”
Nearly half of the people arrested each year during spring break are from South Florida, Jones said. Mr. Jones joined the police department in 1996 and rose through the ranks.
Asked about criticism from some quarters that the spring break crackdown disproportionately targeted Black Florida residents, the city's first Black police chief said, “As a Black person, I'm hypersensitive to that.”
“When I was a teenager, my father stopped me from coming to Miami Beach because he had the impression that young black people weren't treated well here,” he said. “What we do is police behavior, not race or ethnicity.”
The city of Miami Beach is located on a small barrier island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the spring break festivities take place along Ocean Drive's 10 sun-drenched blocks of art deco hotels, trendy restaurants, and nightlife spots.
Katie Ryan, who was on spring break from Connecticut, arrived in Miami Beach with friends on Monday. She was sunbathing on a quiet beach the other day. The area seemed tame compared to her previous “crazy” spring break stay in Fort Lauderdale, about 55 miles north, she said.
Marta Lavandier/Associated Press
Beachgoers play volleyball along Ocean Drive in Miami Beach on February 27.
“Before I came here, I saw a video about how crazy it would be. So maybe people thought, 'I don't care, I'd rather not go there.' said Ryan.
Her friend Avery Kimes was surprised to find the beach so quiet the day before the normally busy second weekend of spring break. “There's a lot of space. It's not noisy,” she said.
Mark Evenson, a spring breaker from Minnesota, said he has “mixed feelings” about efforts to soften the party atmosphere.
“I enjoy being part of what they're trying to prevent here, but I understand why they do what they do,” he said of local governments. “I think for the most part, everyone here is just trying to have fun.”
Wallach said outside his Mango's store that his sidewalk seating along Ocean Drive will be closed on weekends due to spring break restrictions, which will reduce profits by about 30% for the company that operates the cafe. He said he meant it.
“When there's a curfew and the nightclubs are gone… what do we have left? Plenty of paychecks and a kitchen,” he said. “If it's like the last few years, it's a very bad situation for business.”
CNN's Chris Boyette contributed to this report.
