Florida governor Ron DeSantis announced on Tuesday that 45 state law enforcement officers are also being deployed to the city to bolster the police.
But business owners in the city’s world-famous South Beach neighbourhood are now concerned that they’ll lose money during one of the busiest times of the year, and civil rights advocates say the restrictions are an overreaction to large crowds of black people.
Many of the city’s restrictions aren’t new, but in past years, they were instituted as emergency measures during the unofficial holiday – not measures put in place ahead of time.
“The status quo and what we’ve seen in the last few years is just not acceptable, not tolerable,” Miami Beach mayor Steven Meiner said.
Meiner said crowds had become unmanageable and that the city, which is situated on a barrier island across the bay from Miami, had seen numbers that exceeded what’s safe for both visitors and residents during the break.
“Florida is a very welcoming state,” said DeSantis. “We welcome people to come and have a good time. What we don’t welcome is criminal activity. What we don’t welcome is mayhem and people who want to wreak havoc on our communities.”
Most spring break activity centres around a 10-block stretch of Ocean Drive known for its art deco hotels, restaurants and nightclubs.
David Wallack, owner of South Beach restaurant and nightclub Mango’s Tropical Cafe, says Miami Beach has always thrived on celebration, and choking visitor access would turn the vibrant, eclectic city into a retirement community.
“I believe we need to create something big, another big event in March because March has fallen off the edge of the cliff,” he says.
Wallack and others have proposed a large music festival during the third week of spring break – when aimless and unruly crowds tend to reach their climax – with the hope that attendees will disperse the loitering mobs.
Meiner said the city has spent millions of dollars on concerts and other events in the past with little effect in mitigating the violence. He said businesses suffered when violent mobs gathering along Ocean Drive forced them to close, adding that the people who are primarily causing the problems aren’t spending money in the city anyway.
“They’re not staying in the hotels,” Meiner said. “They’re not visiting our businesses.”
Some civil rights advocates, however, believe the restrictions are racially motivated.
South Beach became popular among black tourists about two decades ago as promoters organised Urban Beach Week during May’s Memorial Day weekend.
Many locals have complained about violence and other crime associated with the event, which led to an increased police presence. But the event’s continued popularity correlates to heightened black tourism throughout the year.
Stephen Hunter Johnson, a lawyer and member of Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board, says city officials were only cracking down so hard because many of the visitors are black. But Meiner rejects the notion: “I have a moral obligation to keep people safe, and right now, it is not safe,” he said.
The long-time spring break destination of Panama City Beach, in northwest Florida, has experienced a similar escalation in violent crime, but Police Chief Eusebio Talamantez attributes that to people taking advantage of the environment, not actual university students on spring break.
“When you think of spring break, you might think of vacation, a collegiate break, maybe some fist fights and some keg stands [a drinking activity in which the participant does a handstand on a keg of beer],” Talamantez says. “It has evolved into shootings, mass riots, rape and homicide.”
9 of the best city destinations with beaches, from Miami to Sydney to Rio
9 of the best city destinations with beaches, from Miami to Sydney to Rio
Panama City Beach’s violence came to a head in 2015, when a house party shooting left seven people wounded. The city subsequently banned alcohol on the beach and cracked down on unpermitted events.
Local businesses sued the city later that year, claiming the new rules unfairly targeted events popular with black visitors, but the lawsuit was dropped several months later.
A renewed crackdown in 2023, however, led to a 44 per cent reduction in crime, and the city is imposing similar rules this year. Talamantez says he doubts anything Miami Beach is doing will be more strict than the enforcement measures in Panama City Beach.
“We’re just trying to create an environment that says loud and clear in big bold letters that we are a municipality of law and order,” Talamantez says. “And law and order does not go away just because you’re on spring break.”
