Miami Beach Mayor Calls For Alcohol Restrictions on Ocean Drive

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Saying he remembers when Ocean Drive was "peaceful, artsy, creative," Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine on Tuesday called for limiting alcohol sales at the iconic outdoor cafes along Ocean Drive to 2 a.m. The announcement follows a series of violent incidents over Memorial Day weekend that left two people dead and at least three others injured. Businesses on Ocean Drive can sell alcohol until 5 a.m. at present.

"During the last five, six, seven, eight years we've seen a downward trend in Ocean Drive," said Levine, who bristled at a pledge by Miami Beach Commissioner and mayoral candidate Michael Grieco to end the annual tradition of Urban Beach Week that falls over Memorial Day weekend.

The mayor said the problem is all year long and that there were more arrests over Labor Day weekend than Memorial Day weekend. In general, he said Memorial Day weekend arrests were down 50 percent between this year and last. There had not been a shooting on the long weekend since 2011 before this past weekend, he said. "What we need to do as a city is reform and clean up Ocean Drive," the mayor asserted.

The mayor also said he wants to eliminate a special exemption to the city's noise ordinance that allows Ocean Drive businesses to play loud music through the night. (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Beach Patch.)

"We propose to take that exemption away to once again bring peace and tranquility to Ocean Drive, which is surely what our residents and our visitors deserve," Levine said.

Speaking at a press conference, Levine pointed to similar limitations on alcohol in Fort Lauderdale and Coconut Grove, a contention that drew jeers from one Ocean Drive businessman in the audience: "You're talking about businesses that created the famous label of Miami Beach. You should be talking with respect," he shouted, adding that "Fort Lauderdale went into a 30-year depression.".

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Mayor Levine was joined by City Manager Jimmy Morales, Police Chief Daniel Oates and Miami Beach resident and owner of Sherbrooke Hotel Mitch Novak. The press conference was outside Miami Beach City Hall.

Police responded to three separate shootings and a stabbing incident that occurred during a beach brawl over the long weekend. All of the incidents occurred well before 2 a.m. but Levine said that the late closing times attract an undesirable element.

"To have three or four or five or six clubs that generate income for themselves, they're minimal tax receipts for the city of Miami Beach," he said.

The incidents coincided with Urban Beach Week, a free-flowing hip-hop festival that stretches over Memorial Day weekend. The event has been a source of concern to city officials for years, but Levine insists that the problem is much broader.

"That clientele I'm referring to (is) 52 weeks of the year — folks that come into the city, that trash the city, that cause problems, that cause crime, that sell drugs on Ocean Drive, that run prostitution rings, that mug tourists," he said.

Watch the entire press conference:

Photo of Ocean Drive by Paul Scicchitano. Image and video of Mayor Philip Levine courtesy of Miami Beach