For the second year in a row, a Miami Beach spring break curfew has been declared following a weekend of violence in the touristic South Beach neighborhood. The new curfew, which goes into effect on March 24, will run from midnight Thursday evening through Monday at 6am.
The spring break curfew applies to specific areas in South Beach, where most of the spring break traffic is concentrated: from 23rd Street to South Pointe Drive (north-south), and from Ocean Drive/Collins Avenue (the Atlantic Ocean on the east) to Biscayne Bay on the west.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber made the announcement during a press conference on Monday afternoon, citing the city is “well past its endpoint.” Gelber noted that 371 police officers had been deployed to monitor the areas over the weekend, while police chief Richard Clements added that 37 firearms had been confiscated over the last three days. Five people were injured during several shootings reported over the weekend.
“We don’t ask for spring break, we don’t promote it, we don’t encourage it, we just endure it, and frankly it’s something we don’t want to endure,” said Gelber during Monday’s press conference.
The city hopes to implement the same curfew next weekend, March 31 to April 4, pending approval from the city commission. There is a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, to discuss extending the emergency order.