Miami Seaside Suspends Pilot Program for Spring Break Occasions Because of COVID-19 – WSVN 7News | Miami Information, Climate, Sports activities

By Marlan McCarthy On Feb 16, 2021

MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – Spring break plans have been suspended as Miami Beach officials work to contain COVID cases.

“Is this the year we want to launch our first pilot program?” said Miami Beach Interim City Manager Raul Aguila.

“Our city doesn’t usually sponsor spring break, but we’ve tried to control it better,” said Dan Gelber, Miami Beach Mayor.

Gelber said one way to better control the chaos in the spring break ahead of the pandemic is to set up its own events.

The city was considering the idea of hosting a festival organized by Tom Bercu Presents, an event production company.

The month-long event would take place in and around Lummus Park and the beach areas from Seventh Street to 11th Street and consist of beachfront movies, concerts, dance parties and more.

As COVID cases continue to rise in South Florida, the city’s Board of Commissioners decided this was not the right year to do so.

“This year we clearly don’t want to sponsor events that lead to large gatherings and nothing that could lead to a super-spreader,” said Gelber.

In December, the city commission was recommended to move the festival concept forward, but this week the provisional city manager said in a memo: “My recommendation would be not to continue with the Tom Bercu pilot program this year.”

The memo goes on to say, “I think our resources could be better served if additional funds were dedicated to enforcement rather than programming.”

And the commission agreed and unanimously voted to end the $ 1 million pilot program.

“Although we have long talked about programming the spring break, this is not the right year to do it in the middle of a pandemic,” said Commissioner Michael Gongora.

A South Beach bartender we spoke to said companies have had problems this year and believe the board should have pushed the festival forward, but with COVID-19 restrictions.

“I think we have to be careful, wear masks. We have to wash our hands and everything, ”said Martin Leiva.

While the city won’t host an event this year and hundreds of nearby colleges are expected to still have spring break, the mayor said if things get out of hand, beach closings and extended curfews are still possible.

“If we have problems with enforcement, I don’t know that something is off the table,” said Gelber.

The mayor said some of the more extreme restrictions, like beach closings and extended curfews, would have to be a playful decision and would only materialize when things get out of hand in Miami Beach.

The city commission is still planning to consider the proposal for the Tom Bercu pilot program for 2022.