Despite a curfew that went into effect at 8 p.m. Sunday, hundreds of singing and dancing spring breakers crowded some areas of South Beach an hour after the restrictions took effect.
Though there were no reports of mass arrests in the entertainment district just a day after chaos and confrontation between crowds and cops, police detained several people near Fifth Street and Ocean Drive.
And in some sections, the party went on. A small money-tossing crowd gathered near an impromptu-twerking show. Then, around 8 p.m., police officers on ATVs slowly made their way through an emptying Ocean Drive to announce the curfew and disperse anyone lingering. Squeezed-out crowds continued to regroup at other cross streets.
Just before 7 p.m., an hour before the curfew, Shibra Jones, 35, and her partner Mike Jones, 42, were enjoying pizza and ice cream outside a small shop on 10th Street and Collins Avenue. Jones said she has been a longtime Beach visitor and has seen crowds get younger over the years.
"Old Miami was always a party city, but it feels different," she said, adding she was grateful for the police presence and had felt safe since arriving Saturday.
Jones said she heard about the spring break chaos on the news. While she plans to stay for the rest of the month, she said she's not sure if she'd rush to come back.
On Sunday afternoon, the Miami Beach City Commission unanimously decided during an emergency meeting that an 8 p.m. curfew in South Beach's entertainment district would remain and that the eastbound lanes of the MacArthur, Julia Tuttle and Venetian causeways will shut down at 10 p.m. Thursday through Sunday for the remainder of spring break, April 12.
Residents, hotel guests and local business employees are exempt from causeway closures on the MacArthur and Tuttle. The Venetian is resident-only during the causeway shutdown hours.
The curfew affects South Beach's main strips of Ocean Drive, Washington Avenue, Collins Avenue and Española Way from 5th to 16th streets, an area bound by Ocean Drive to the east and Pennsylvania Avenue to the west. Restaurants in the zone can remain open for deliveries until 6 a.m., but their sidewalk cafes and COVID-era outdoor seating expansion must close at 8 p.m.
In the aftermath of the spring break weekend unrest on the Beach, and in an effort to emphasize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's coronavirus protection guidelines, the Paramount Miami Worldcenter tower in downtown Miami will illuminate the lyrics of Gloria Estefan's COVID-19 musical public service message, "Put on Your Mask."
The star-spangled public health alert light show began at 8 p.m. Sunday, signaling the start of the state-of-emergency overnight curfew in Miami Beach.
In recent weeks, South Beach saw brawls, crowd stampedes and police confrontations involving the use of pepper balls. Miami Beach police have made over 1,000 arrests since February and at least five officers have been hurt on the job, the department said. Since Friday, police have made over 50 arrests and confiscated 8 firearms.
