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Miami Beach Spends $250,000 to Tell Spring Breakers to Stay Away *Centurion Insurance AFS*

Mar 08, 2024 (0) comment , , , , , , , ,

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(Bloomberg) — Miami Beach has a message for spring breakers: We’re done.

Fed up with rowdy college kids doing the sort of things rowdy college kids do in a haze of endorphins, alcohol and other intoxicants, the city has spent $250,000 on a slick campaign including a video that declares it’s “breaking up with spring break.”

Newly minted Mayor Steven Meiner is now implementing a crackdown that was a pillar of his campaign last year. During the two busiest weekends in March, there will be drunk-driving checkpoints, a 6 p.m. curfew on the beach and no access to city garages or sidewalk seating on famed Ocean Drive.

The ominous warning to young party-goers underscores how the city is striving to portray a more-sophisticated and less-frivolous image as it welcomes ever more wealthy residents from the likes of New York and Chicago.

Billionaires including Ken Griffin, Josh Harris and Orlando Bravo have become owners of luxury homes in the Miami Beach area. In their wake, gleaming office buildings, hip restaurants and hedge-fund conferences have followed.

Miami Beach has had enough with spring breakers after declaring a state of emergency three years in a row to quell the violence arriving with the hordes on the rite of passage. Shootings killed two last year, prompting curfews and the shutdown of bars and restaurants. As many as 40,000 people, mostly young adults, come to the city on the busiest days of March.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the city this week to roll out a plan that includes deploying 140 state troopers throughout the state, with 45 on Miami Beach and “quick response” troopers on standby.

“We don’t welcome mayhem and people that want to wreak havoc on our communities,” he said at a podium with the phrase “law and order” plastered on a sign with an image of a snapping gator.

Previous city administrations tried to curtail the rowdiness by promoting more tame activities like fitness classes and concerts by artists Alanis Morissette and Colombian musician Juanes. But mayor Meiner’s current marketing campaign reflects a sterner streak.

“You just want to get drunk in public and ignore laws,” the city’s video addressing spring breakers says. “This March you can expect things like curfews, bag checks and restricted beach access, DUI checkpoints, $100 parking and strong police enforcement.”

If that breaks the heart of any spring breakers, they can head to other destinations.

South Padre Island in Texas has spent $400,000 marketing itself to spring breakers, college students and families alike. The place’s approximately 2,000 permanent residents are overtaken by 1.7 million visitors who descend on its shores during March.

The city uses a $50,000 budget to throw parties including a “Battle of the Universities” featuring giant jenga, tug-of-war and limbo contests. Beach concerts include headliners like celebrity DJ Steve Aoki.

“I know it’s a pain in the ass with the loud music and traffic and the drunk people, but our residents grit their teeth and bear through it for the month because they recognize the economic impact,” said Blake Henry, the executive director for the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Henry admits spring breakers are a nuisance. Drunk students regularly crash golf carts or drive them into the ocean and the drunk tank fills up nightly.

But like Miami Beach, South Padre Island also beefs up security. The city scans license plates for all who enter the single bridge into the island, city hall becomes an emergency operation center. It uses cameras to monitor activity and borrows surveillance balloons from Customs and Border Protection to monitor crowds.

A church group even feeds intoxicated students pancake breakfasts and provides safe rides around the island. Miami Beach’s Meiner, however, is conveying a decidedly less-welcoming message.

“Come to our city and enjoy, but play by the rules,” he said. “Obey the law. And if you don’t, we’re gonna take action.”

–With assistance from Shelby Knowles.

Photo: People gather on a beach in Miami on Spring Break in 2021. (Bloomberg)

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.

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