Miami Beach doesn’t need a 2 a.m. alcohol cutoff. It needs leadership from City Hall
Miami Beach needs to put away the political soundbites in favor of true solutions. The proposed 2 a.m. alcohol ban for Miami Beach is a recycled red herring, a distraction that City Hall wants to throw at voters instead of taking initiative to fix the real problem.
Last time they tried this in 2017, 65% of the electorate rejected the ban when it was limited to just the Entertainment District. Now they want to go full “Footloose” and rollback citywide sales to 2 a.m. instead of addressing the problem.
Crime in Miami Beach is out of control. Our community is at its limit for the violence and tragedy we witness in our neighborhoods and the truth is, most crime in Miami Beach doesn’t wait until after 2 a.m.
We have teen bike gangs committing violence at all hours of the day, wreaking havoc in residential neighborhoods. Just last month, a young tourist was fatally shot at random while eating dinner with his family in broad daylight. And it is not limited to the Entertainment District or just at night. My family can’t even walk the dog these days without a police escort or Kevlar.
CAUSES OF CRIME
As residents, we don’t feel safe at any time of the day. This isn’t because alcohol is being served past 2 a.m. It’s because our local elected officials have allowed crime to flourish and refuse to take a hard look at how to address crime in our communities. Ocean Drive continues to be a magnet for crime due to City Hall’s neglect. Our leaders would rather blame local businesses and thousands of hardworking employees, hitting them with draconian and ineffective restrictions.
If Miami Beach becomes a 2 a.m. town, will we turn into Naples overnight? The answer is no. But what will happen is at 2 a.m., the party will spill out into the streets, or worse, into party houses and illegal Airbnb’s in a neighborhood near you. And soon after, sales tax revenue will plummet, and our property taxes go up. By that point it will be too late.
There are real solutions. To start, the city can enforce existing laws and they can do so by getting our law enforcement out into the community. That means getting our officers out of their cars, and on bikes and ATVs, so they have a more visible presence within our community. I will be personally working with MBPD on this initiative over the next few months.
We also need to reopen Ocean Drive to traffic, one-way northbound, with valet access for hotels. The road closures have drawn large groups creating a street party atmosphere that is impossible to control. Miami Beach Fraternal Order of Police President Paul Ozaeta said there is a consensus within the law enforcement community that Ocean Drive should open back up, partly due to the difficulty police have responding to this crowded area with limited access points. City Hall should be listening to our law enforcement professionals.
CLEAN UP NEEDED
We also need to invest in cleaning up Miami Beach, literally — removing graffiti and vandalism, creating a litter-free environment and beautifying our city — because a cleaner street lends itself to better behavior. We also need to get rid of the few bad-actor businesses that cater to chaos instead of contributing to our success.
Most importantly, we need real, visible and vocal leadership from City Hall. It’s time to get our heads out of the sand. We all want to see our city thrive and we deserve leaders who would rather implement solutions that yield long-term success for our community than find ways to score cheap political points at the expense of local businesses, workers and adjacent neighborhoods.
State Rep. Michael Grieco is the Democratic ranking member of the Florida House Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee and is a former Miami prosecutor and Miami Beach commissioner.