MIAMI BEACH, Florida. – Dozens of protesters marched in Miami Beach on Wednesday, protesting the plan to make the final phone call a few hours earlier.
Mayor Dan Gelber believes the interruption in alcohol sales at 2 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. will reduce the rowdy behavior that haunts the city and makes national headlines.
Voters can make their voices heard in the November elections.
“You can’t expect our residents to be held hostage to a business model that creates an awful lot of clutter,” Gelber said.
Gelber and others in support of the rollback say that while the change would be city-wide, it is actually a very specific section of Ocean Drive.
“We started a party district 20 years ago and for some reason we think it’s important to keep it. It’s not, ”said Gelber. “It doesn’t help our city, it doesn’t cancel out our city, it just creates disorder and is incompatible with our residential communities and our status as a cultural destination.”
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In fact, Gelber says 20 percent of all crime in the city comes from this two-block area.
On the other hand, those who oppose the proposal say it is not their fault.
“We didn’t do rigorous policing on Ocean Drive, and I compare it to, ‘How about you look at your own home and not clean it for seven years and then start screaming,’ How come it isn’t clean is?’ And who are you going to blame, ”said David Wallack, owner of Mango’s Tropical Café.
He was not alone with these feelings.
“This is the city of Miami Beach that is spending the money,” said Mario Trejo, a bartender at Twist. “They are passing the money on and trying to say that the clubs and bars are responsible for all crimes when in reality they are not.”
There is also a charge that this is not really about crime, but mainly about getting rid of the bars and clubs so they can replace them with something else.
This vote on the November vote is not binding, but the city commission will use it as a guide for citizens.
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