Curfew enacted in Miami Beach
The city of Miami Beach imposed a midnight curfew Friday as officials look to shut down the spring break party ahead of a weekend that has brought large crowds and shootings to Ocean Drive in recent years.
The curfew will take effect Friday after 11:59 p.m. and apply to all areas south of 23rd Street, including the South Beach entertainment district between Fifth and 23rd streets along Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue and Washington Avenue. It will also apply tonight and Sunday night.
“People will be asked to immediately vacate the streets and return to their homes, hotels or other accommodations,” the city said in a news release.
The nightly curfew will be lifted at 6 a.m. today , Sunday and Monday.
City Manager Alina Hudak announced the curfew as part of a state of emergency that will run from 11:59 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday. The Miami Beach City Commission would need to vote to extend it. Hudak signed the order declaring the curfew at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
“In consultation with our public safety leadership, we have determined that a midnight curfew is necessary and appropriate to assist in maintaining public safety on this Spring Break weekend,” Hudak said in a statement. “We did not make this decision lightly, but it should not come as a surprise. We have been very clear about our intent to protect the public from the dangerous mayhem that has accompanied Spring Break crowds in recent years.”
The city is also prohibiting alcohol sales for off-premises consumption after 6 p.m.
This marks the fourth consecutive year in which city officials have declared a curfew in South Beach during spring break in March. In each of the past two years, a midnight curfew was announced after a pair of shootings on jam-packed Ocean Drive. In 2021, the city imposed an 8 p.m. curfew.
This year’s announcement differed in that it came despite no shootings or other major incidents of violence occurring.
“The curfew has been endorsed for a year now with clear communication to businesses about its possibility,” City Commissioner Alex Fernandez said in a statement.