MIAMI BEACH – The final call could come three hours early in Miami Beach, where a majority of voters, fed up with the nighttime violence, voted “yes” to extend the 5am closing time for alcohol sales.
The voting referendum was held Tuesday in response to increasingly louder crowds and public drinking in the South Beach entertainment district, where tension has been bubbling for years as the party crowds grew from a few weekends to a year-round presence. It worsened during the pandemic when city officials closed the main drag to vehicles and allowed restaurants to offer more outdoor seating along Ocean Drive.
The city imposed a curfew at 8 p.m. during the spring break when more than 1,000 people were arrested. But it was not entirely clear how much support such measures would find among the citizens in a city that is dependent on tourism.
Mayor Dan Gelber, who pushed for a 2am closure, also won his re-election on Tuesday. He declared victory for both campaigns.
“That’s what our residents want,” said Gelber. He called the earlier restriction on alcohol sales a first step in repositioning the entertainment district of South Beach as “living, working, playing” with new living, office and cultural spaces.
City commissioners approved a temporary restriction on early morning alcohol sales in South Beach last summer. Now city officials have to work out laws to codify the referendum. Gelber said he expected commissioners to support such measures now that voters have spoken.
In 2017, voters turned down a similar proposal to ban alcohol from selling alcohol at 2 a.m. on Ocean Drive in South Beach, the Miami Herald reported.
Exceptions are possible – Gelber said he was open to allowing larger hotels with security guards to continue serving alcohol until 5 a.m.
Critics said the earlier lockdown would cost the city millions without stopping crime. South Beach club owners invested $ 675,000 in a failed campaign to kill the referendum, the newspaper reported.
“Today’s non-binding straw poll was an attempt to mislead leaders who have failed to contain the growing problems of crime in Miami Beach,” said a statement from Citizens for a Safe Miami Beach, which plans to withdraw “To oppose solutions that do nothing”. Solve crimes but cost 4,100 local workers their jobs, raise property taxes, and cut tens of millions of dollars from city revenues. “
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