South Beach will be forced to implement a 2 a.m. drinking ban in March, which will impact Spring breaker’s plan to party all night in the city’s most popular nightlife areas.
After city commissioners voted Wednesday to roll back the current 5 a.m. cut-off time for booze sales in place throughout much of the city, alcohol sales and consumption will be prohibited after 2 a.m. in South Beach’s world-famous entertainment district between March 7 and March 21.
All businesses south of 16th Street that allow on-site consumption will be affected by the change.
A 4-3 vote approved the proposal despite several nightlife operators, hotel managers, and employees complaining that limiting alcohol service would make the city’s clubs, restaurants, and hotels more competitive.
A landlord for South Beaches club Exchange Miami, Jimmy Resnick, said, “It’s just picking winners and losers. It’s wrong.”
Other residents who spoke out in support of the temporary 2 a.m. ban, including the Mayor Dan Gelber, argued that it was necessary to free up police resources and ensure public safety during spring break around St. Patrick‘s Day.
As a result of mass crowds during last year‘s spring break, a curfew of 8 p.m. was implemented, and the city’s significant causeways were shut down amid public disorder and clashes with police.
“For the hardship, it may deliver, I’m sorry,” Gelber said. “But from our point of view, going through that two-week period … is a danger to the public. It’s a proven danger to the public.”
However, critics of the proposal point out that the problems from the previous spring break occurred during a Miami-Dade County COVID-era midnight curfew. They claim that instead of making the city safer, it will force customers into the street.
During the pandemic, the bars were closed. But yet we had the worst experiences in Miami Beach,” said Commissioner David Richardson.
