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Dear Neighbors,
Yesterday marked our city’s 108th birthday since its founding by Carl Fisher. Over mangroves and water, he built what has become one of the most beautiful and prospering cities in America. We are truly blessed to live in a paradise surrounded by nature and a melting pot of cultures that contribute to our vibrancy. Notwithstanding a couple of weekends out of the year, we are a safe community. And while our challenges are serious during those weekends, our fullest potential is limitless and can be achieved through a dose of sacrifice and hard work.
The tragic events of this spring break have hurt our image around the world and sadly the morale of residents who deserve to feel safe. You deserve better and I commit to push our government, including myself, to do better for our community.
Having walked Ocean Drive every day and night of the spring break weekends, I have received much feedback from law enforcement, business owners, their employees, and residents. Based on that and the recommendations of our professional staff, I have developed proposals to address our challenges.
For short term, immediate solutions, I am proposing the following at today’s City Commission meeting:
- A proactive curfew for Spring break 2024 specifically during the historically dangerous third weekend in March for the entire area south of 23rd Street. For the also historically problematic second weekend in March, the City Commission should also consider closing businesses earlier in the area south of 23rd Street and rolling back alcohol sales citywide. These measures should be decided NOW to give businesses an entire year to prepare.
- Increasing rates and/or limit non-residential parking during spring break. This must be coupled with enhanced parking enforcement in the surrounding residential areas.
- Continue requesting additional support for law enforcement from Miami-Dade County, the State of Florida, and our other mutual aide partners to flood the area and side streets with highly visible police presence, strictly enforce open container and marijuana consumption, and protect our residential areas like Flamingo Park, West Avenue, South of Fifth, among others.
- Strictly enforcing traffic infractions and expanding DIU checkpoints in Miami Beach.
For a long term fix that truly transforms and improves the month of March, I have been working with our City Administration since shortly after being elected in bringing the Goodwood Festival of Speed to Miami Beach for the month of March, within a fenced perimeter between 5th Street and 14th Place from Ocean Drive to the Beach, with limited access points, and security to ensure a controlled environment.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed has an enduring popularity attracting international visitors to their ticketed event in England – and I am leading the efforts to bring them to Miami Beach starting March 2025. But high-quality events, like Art Basel, take years to attract and secure, specially an event like Goodwood.
Once in Miami Beach, Goodwood would be the Art Basel of the month of March attracting tourism that invests in our economy and that would elevate us internationally generating positive branding for Miami Beach – a sharp contrast to our current reality.
As I told the Miami Herald last year when they reported about my efforts to bring the Goodwood Festival of Speed for our transformation of the spring break month of March, my goal is to keep people safe. The Miami Herald quoted me as saying, “Whether it’s Goodwood or something else, I envision an activity that makes sure all of South Beach is safe and programmed with positive activations…and also provides a controlled environment on Ocean Drive.”
Last year, the City Commission adopted my resolution authorizing the City Administration to engage in negotiations to launch the Goodwood International Festival of Speed in Miami Beach.
Preliminarily Proposed Fenced & Secured Perimeter (Red Border) for the Goodwood Festival of Speed:
The situation we are currently facing with spring break is particularly frustrating to me because in 2022, shortly after being elected, I sponsored, and the commission adopted, a Spring Break Ordinance that established alcohol restrictions to help curb the very chaos we have witnessed.
My Spring Break Ordinance was not a fix-all solution, but it was a proactive measure and the tool our law enforcement was asking for at the time. Unfortunately, Judge Betty Butchko ruled against my ordinance and shortly after we had eight shootings in our community resulting in a state of emergency and curfew.
The history of chaos, gun violence, and deaths has been repeating itself during the third weekend of March 2021, 2022, and 2023. Year after year, Miami Beach has had to react by issuing a state of emergency order and establishing a curfew to control the ungovernable crowds taking over our roads and causing violence.
Rather than being reactive, Miami Beach needs to proactively lead NOW – at today’s City Commission meeting – and do so boldly. We know this overwhelming crowd will return next year on the second and third weekends of March unless we take action NOW.
Upon consulting with our City Manager and City Attorney, I strongly feel the City must announce that for next year, Miami Beach will shut the door on spring break by announcing – from now – a curfew for the historically violent third weekend of March.
When it comes to solving our spring break crisis, government can’t act alone. We must engage our business stakeholders and our residents in the policy-making process.
Last week I spent countless hours doing outreach to the businesses community including the Ocean Drive Association, the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District, the Washington Avenue Business Improvement District, Mangos, Clevelander, Voodoo Lounge, the Betsy, Twist, Goodtime Hotel, Anglers, Moxy, The Anglers, Queen, and others.
Businesses in Miami Beach agree that it is best for our safety and for the economy to act decisively now to deter the criminal behavior from entering into our city by proactively announcing safety measures from now – such as curfews – to dissuade the violent crowds from coming to wreak havoc in our city. By doing so we help businesses better prepare and minimize their losses.
I also engaged with several resident groups that have announced their endorsement of my proposals, including the SobeSafe, the Mid Beach Neighborhood Association, the West Avenue Neighborhood Association, and the South of Fifth Neighborhood Association.
And, in an editorial, the Miami Herald referred to my proposal as, “a solid idea.”
I hope my colleagues share in this sentiment because together we can shut the door on spring break. It would be the best birthday gift we could give to Miami Beach.
Sincerely,
Alex Fernandez
