Miami Beach Spring Break problems -- Curfew & Causeways closed

[shh]

The difference is bad behavior years ago vs. violence now...in Miami Beach, not Ft Lauderdale. Before, people got drunk and stupid. Now, some of them come looking for trouble.

Ft. Lauderdale, BTW, still has large crowds of young people, mostly college kids, and almost no violence.

As I pointed out above, Miami Beach has at least two annual events (Ultra and NYE) with mostly young people which are both several times the size of our spring break crowds -- but no violence. We have two other weekends (multiple events) which are much larger than spring break, but older crowds -- no violence. We have another somewhat smaller weekend on Memorial Day -- much smaller crowds, young people, always violence.

The problem is not college kids, it's not young people generally, and it's not partying. We have all those things 45+ weeks a year with no violence.

yup. This isn't about drunk and stupid - which c'mon - is practically a prerequisite for college, lol.

The ones causing the problems are rarely college kids down on spring break...they're criminals with records a mile long - or lowlifes with a belligerent attitude towards rules, anyone in uniform or ordinary people just wanting to enjoy a peaceful outing with family.

Been living in this state 40+ years - haven't gone near Miami area in 25-30, other than to drive by as fast as possible en route to the Keys.

 

[JimMIA]

yup. This isn't about drunk and stupid - which c'mon - is practically a prerequisite for college, lol.

The ones causing the problems are rarely college kids down on spring break...they're criminals with records a mile long - or lowlifes with a belligerent attitude towards rules, anyone in uniform or ordinary people just wanting to enjoy a peaceful outing with family.

Been living in this state 40+ years - haven't gone near Miami area in 25-30, other than to drive by as fast as possible en route to the Keys.

Miami is an amazing city; you should come visit us! Just stay away from the problematic areas and problematic weeks.

 

[shh]

Miami is an amazing city; you should come visit us! Just stay away from the problematic areas and problematic weeks.

Oh I'm well acquainted with Miami - worked there for 8+ years, from brickell to the grove to many other surrounding areas. I certainly respect the opinions of those who enjoy it, but definitely not my cup of java. Said I'd never go back after I left my last job and never did.

 

[JimMIA]

Miami Beach had more trouble last night, so they are shutting it down.

https://wsvn.com/news/local/thousan...ly-closes-dining-area-due-to-safety-concerns/

Their city manager just announced he is ordering a curfew for the "entertainment district" starting at 8 PM tonight, and they are shutting down most traffic on the causeways from the mainland to Miami Beach at 10 PM.

I have never seen the causeways closed to traffic except when they are too dangerous during hurricanes!

The curfews are supposed to last until April 12, which is the false date Miami Beach claims spring break ends. Should be interesting!

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/...0210320-pxcxjr45kfc5ligftifedxl7ue-story.html

 

[Julie's Haircut]

My wife and I are flying to Miami in late April, then driving to the Keys for five days. Before flying back we intended to visit Miami Beach for two nights. Hopefully the craziness will be over by then.

Ft. Lauderdale was THE place to go for spring break when I was in college circa 1978-82. I went twice with friends, and heard the party scene diminished drastically by the later 80s.

 

[JimMIA]

My wife and I are flying to Miami in late April, then driving to the Keys for five days. Before flying back we intended to visit Miami Beach for two nights. Hopefully the craziness will be over by then.

Ft. Lauderdale was THE place to go for spring break when I was in college circa 1978-82. I went twice with friends, and heard the party scene diminished drastically by the later 80s.

It will be fine by then, and that's a great time to visit both Miami Beach and the Keys. The last big spring break week is April 11-18.

Miami Beach will be fine from then to Memorial Day weekend, but unfortunately none of our big art or music festivals because of Covid. South Beach Wine & Food Festival is still on, but that's in late May.

And honestly, there are plenty of safe, good places to go now. Besides, locals rarely go to the "entertainment district" anyway. We go just south of it, or just north of it, instead.

 

[mefordis]

@NotUrsula, I don't know the ins and outs of Spring Break history, but I really don't think our current problem has anything to do with that.

Currently, Ft. Lauderdale is doing more enforcement than a normal time period, but nothing like they would do for air shows, major music festivals, boat shows, etc. And they're not having any serious problems.

Ft. Lauderdale's "thing" is a beautiful beach. They have some nice hotels and good restaurants, but nothing like Miami Beach. They have bars, but nothing like the clubs of South Beach...nothing. The ambiance is just totally different.

Miami Beach's problem is that it has the reputation of being a world-class party destination, and it is super-cool.

So, if you want to spend a few days on a beautiful beach with some things to do, you go to Ft. Lauderdale.

But if you want to BE somebody(!), and be super-cool, and make Snapchat/Instagram/Tik-Tok history...you go to SoBe. And you act out. Totally different clientele for spring break.

People are taking their stimulus $$ and living like the rich in Miami for a couple of days.

 

[punkin]

Who are these people? I was in Miami Beach in the before times January before everything shut down and while there were a ton of people and parties and late into the night revelers...I saw nothing like this.

 

[neverlandsky]

People are taking their stimulus $$ and living like the rich in Miami for a couple of days.

This! It's happening in our area too. People are coming in droves and hitting the slopes and breweries.

 

[JimMIA]

People are taking their stimulus $$ and living like the rich in Miami for a couple of days.

They're not acting anything like the rich, LOL.

 

[Kitty 34]

This thread is making me so happy I live in my little small town in Michigan. Take care, Jim and maybe you need to do a Spring break trip wayyyyyy NORTH!!!

 

[JimMIA]

This thread is making me so happy I live in my little small town in Michigan. Take care, Jim and maybe you need to do a Spring break trip wayyyyyy NORTH!!!

Nah. It's cold up there.

I mean it's chilly here (temps plunging into the 60's the next three nights ), but nothing like up Nawth!

Plus, we live 25 miles from South Beach, which is a good thing even in the best of times.

 

[Heigh-Ho]

Getting back to MIAMI Beach -- the topic of the thread --

Didn't you ask if anyone else was having spring break issues? You also mentioned Ft. Lauderdale. This thread isn't just about Miami Beach..plus tangents happen whether you're the creator of the thread or not. Doesn't mean you can't continue to just talk about what you want to talk about and other people can't talk about what comes up as it comes up.

Thanks for the information about your area. I did hear that increased crowds were heading to Orlando and south FL area for spring break, sorry to hear about the issues going on there.

 

[PAsFab5]

My daughter in law sent me a video (Tiktock) of Clearwater beach from this week and it was absolute chaos. Police were arresting young adults on the beach, they were resisting, running out of the cars handcuffed...I could not believe it!! We just visited Clearwater the first week of March. Nice and calm, families everywhere...I could not believe it was that same beach!! I feel terrible for law enforcement trying to control this.

 

[JimMIA]

My daughter in law sent me a video (Tiktock) of Clearwater beach from this week and it was absolute chaos. Police were arresting young adults on the beach, they were resisting, running out of the cars handcuffed...I could not believe it!!

IDK -- to me, as a retired cop, that video is actually funny. First of all, somebody was really asleep at the switch to leave the doors unlocked with a prisoner in the back seat. That officer will hear about that mistake for years!

And second, of course, it's nothing compared to what officers are going through down here. But it's also part of the job...

 

[Dan Murphy]

Too bad all these jerks have to go back home all over the country. Hope not a fourth wave in the coming weeks.

 

[JimMIA]

Too bad all these jerks have to go back home all over the country. Hope not a fourth wave in the coming weeks.

Well, Dan -- that's a perspective question, LOL! Our feeling is that the people who raised these folks are entitled to have them back! We wouldn't want to deprive you.

But one thing we need to keep in mind is that the vast majority of these young people are NOT bad actors. There's only a small number of trouble-makers, but they make everybody look bad.

 

[JimMIA]

Things are not going well on South Beach, as I suspected they would not.

Officials can hold all the press conferences they want, but people don't go to spring break to keep up to the minute on local news. So the officials announced their curfew and other regulations at 4 PM, for implementation starting at 7 PM and a full curfew at 8 PM.

But nobody who mattered knew about it!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1373425472181317635

So now it's a problem for the police to fix.

BTW, the people in the Twitter video aren't doing anything wrong except violating the curfew. They're just singing along to a song.

 

[sonnyjane]

WOW! The Clevelander is closing food & beverage operations!

For those who don't know, The Clevelander Hotel pool area is THE quintessential South Beach party place. It is THE hotspot of South Beach.

But today, they announced they are closing all food & beverage operations for at least one week because of concerns for the safety of their staff and customers. Their employees will receive full salary and benefits during the closure.

Here's their statement:

Dear Friends,

For decades, the Clevelander South Beach has been one of the most famous and prominent businesses on Ocean Drive. One reason for our prominence and long-standing reputation has been our focus on the safety and well-being our staff and patrons. Recently, we have grown increasingly concerned with the safety of our dedicated employees and valued customers and the ability of the City to maintain a safe environment in the surrounding area. Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily close the food and beverage operations at Clevelander South Beach until at least March 24, 2021. We will re-evaluate the situation over the coming days and decide whether to re-open or remain temporarily closed. The Clevelander employees have our full support and shall be paid their full salary during this period.

Sincerely,
The Clevelander Management Team


They basically said they don't have confidence in the police to provide a safe business environment because of all the craziness and violence. Both the street brawl last night and the fatal shooting on the weekend occurred within 3 blocks of The Clevelander.

https://wsvn.com/news/local/clevela...d-beverage-operations-due-to-safety-concerns/

High on my list of things I can’t believe I’ve done in my life and still lived to tell the tale is swimming at The Clevelander in my 20’s.

 

[cvjw]

The videos I have seen of the crowds in Miami remind me of one time years ago I got caught in the middle of freaknik in downtown Atlanta. What a nightmare.