WRE News: “We’re Going to Turn Miami Beach into Naples for the Month of March”

Photography by on March 29th, 2023 in News

Miami Beach, FL – March 29, 2023 – Miami Beach elected officials voted on Monday to support a curfew, secured perimeter, and rollback of alcohol sale hours during the peak of spring break in March of 2024. “The message has to be resoundingly clear: Miami Beach is shutting down spring break,” Commissioner Alex Fernandez said.

While the details of the measures still need to be hashed out, the move comes following record-breaking crowds and two deadly shootings on Ocean Drive this year, with multiple city commissioners saying they want “draconian measures” to prevent spring break crowds from visiting and congregating in South Beach. Officials expect the new rules to apply from the second week of March through the third, a period of more than ten days.

“The entire month of March should just be family beach month,” said Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez. “We’re going to turn into, like, Naples for the month of March.”In the lone vote against the preemptive curfew, Commissioner Ricky Arriola said the approach would not only damage the nightlife and other businesses of the area, but also send the tourist hub down the wrong path. “Be careful what you turn off, because you may never be able to turn it back on,” he said. “I, for one, don’t want to become Naples because I choose to live in Miami Beach.”

Photo courtesy of the Andy Sweet Collection and Andy Sweet Photo Archive. Ocean Drive circa 1979.