The city instituted a 20h. curfew to curb parties.
Miami Beach officials have declared a state of emergency due to the “overwhelming” spring break crowd, imposing a 8 pm curfew this weekend for their entertainment district and temporarily shutting down several roads leading to the city.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber announced the new measures, saying the city sometimes feels “out of control”.
“At the end of the day, all the policing in the world is not going to stop something terrible from happening, if it is going to happen,” Gelber said at a news conference on Saturday. “Our city now in this area has become a bait and we cannot have a policy of simply hoping that it is not lit.”
The new emergency orders will run for up to 72 hours, officials said.
The 8 pm curfew starts on Saturday. A countywide curfew was already in effect from midnight to 6 am due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Eastbound traffic on three passages will also be closed to traffic, with some exceptions for residents and hotel guests, from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am. The Ocean Drive main road will also shut down vehicle and pedestrian traffic from 8 pm, except for residents and hotel guests and business staff.
There are additional emergency measures that affect night restaurant operations, including sidewalk cafes.
The city is encouraging all businesses within what they consider a “high-impact zone” to close during this period and is asking hotel guests to stay off the streets after 8 pm.
“This was not an easy decision to make,” Raul Águila, the city’s interim manager, told reporters during the news conference. “We are doing this to protect public health and safety.”
“Most of you saw, if not covered, the crowds last night in the entertainment district that numbered in the thousands,” he added. “When we reach the peak of spring break, we are simply overwhelmed in the entertainment district. “
Friday night along Ocean Drive in particular was “just overwhelming,” he said.
“It felt like a rock concert,” said Aguila. “You couldn’t see the pavement or the grass.”
The mayor said that this year’s spring break attracted more visitors than in previous years, as access to other destinations may be limited due to the restrictions of COVID-19.
“People tend to come out in the open,” said Gelber.
At least twice in the past week, Miami Beach police have resorted to using pepper balls to disperse the crowds near Ocean Drive. Two police officers were injured last weekend while taking a suspect into custody, the department said.
“We did everything we could to try to mitigate the behavior we are seeing, but, frankly, I am concerned that the behavior is getting a little longer to be able to cope,” Miami Beach Police Chief Rick Clements said during the briefing.
Clements said there was an incident on Thursday night when a property was destroyed when hundreds of people dispersed. On Friday night, three of those incidents occurred, resulting in injuries, he said.
Some companies have chosen to close during spring break. On Friday, the Clevelander in South Beach, a famous tourist spot in the city, announced that it will end its food and beverage operations by at least Wednesday.
“Recently, we have grown increasingly concerned about the safety of our dedicated employees and valuable customers and the city’s ability to maintain a safe environment in the surrounding area,” said the management team in an Instagram post.
Victoria Arancio and Joshua Hoyos of ABC News contributed to this report.