MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Alcohol sales will be restricted during the next few days in portions of Miami Beach as city leaders continue cracking down on spring break crowds.
City Manager Alina Hudak signed an order Wednesday that bans the sale or distribution of any alcoholic beverage for off-premises consumption within the existing curfew area, the order reads. It goes into effect at 6 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Sales may resume at stores between 8-10 a.m. each day, the Miami Herald reports.
"The message is don’t come party here," said Mayor Dan Gelber, according to the newspaper.
City leaders on Monday declared a state of emergency following two shootings last weekend that injured five people. Video showed a crowd running and ducking for cover after shots were heard Sunday morning in the first of the two shootings, according to NBC Miami.
As part of the emergency order, a curfew exists from midnight to 6 a.m. through Monday morning in most areas south of Dade Boulevard — including the iconic stretch of Art Deco buildings on Ocean Drive. Alcohol sales are banned within this area, and most travel isn't permitted.
Residents needing access to their homes, hotel guests and overnight employees going to work allowed to travel, the order reads.
"This is the most peak time, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.," Mini Mart owner Monjurul Alam told WSVN-TV. "This is the most peak time for us. When we finish going through these rules, we gonna lose a lot of money.
"I agree that we need safety also, but if it is continuous, it will be super, super, hard for us, but if it’s two, three days, I think it’s OK."
Miami Beach leaders issued a similar curfew during spring break last year as large crowds gathered. Police used "pepper balls" in an attempt to disperse everyone, but "the crowd ended up turning on those officers," a law enforcement official said at the time. More than 100 people were arrested in one weekend.
Critics argue that, for a second year in the row, leaders are overreacting to large, mostly Black, crowds that have been mostly peaceful, the Herald reports.
"The only emergency is that Black people are on the Beach," said Stephen Hunter Johnson, a member of Miami-Dade’s Black Advisory Board to the Herald. "I don’t understand how this town has been doing spring break for at least 25 years and can’t figure it out."