The Miami Beach City Commission voted unanimously on Sunday to extend its state of emergency through April 12 as out of control crowds of Spring Breakers gather in the city.
Restaurants are allowed to stay open until 6 a.m. but only for deliveries. Outdoor seating must shut down at 8 p.m in keeping with the curfew. Road closures will also remain in efffect from 10 p.m every Thursday through Sunday until April 12, the Miami Herald reported.
These new restrictions come as the unruly crowd of maskless Spring Breakers spent days partying and sometimes clashing with police.
“The goal here is to really contain the overwhelming crowd of visitors, and the potential for violence disruption and damage to and damage to property, whether intentional or not,” Miami Beach interim City Manager Raul Aguila said.
“Unfortunately, this is the last thing that I had wanted to do. But this is a spring break like no other,” he said. “Not all people that visit Miami Beach are bad, come to Miami Beach with the intent of breaking the law, and disrupting our quality of life. But this is a different situation, and it calls for drastic measures.”
Miami Beach police have made more than 1,000 arrests since Feb. 3, with more than 350 of those for felony offenses. Officials have also seized more than 80 firearms, and at least five officers have been injured.
On Saturday night, Miami Beach Police fired pepper balls into crowds of partiers and arrested at least a dozen people. A SWAT vehicle was also seen driving down a popular party street and using a sound cannon, to get people to disperse.
