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Mayor Dan Gelber Wants To Reinvent South Beach Which He Says Has 'Grown To Resemble Beachfront Bourbon Street'

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber is proposing a midnight last call for alcohol and wants to make Ocean Drive fully pedestrianized.

"Over the last few decades, it has grown to resemble beachfront Bourbon Street. With all night drinking and too much misbehaving. Where too many people go to do what they would never do in their own hometown," said Mayor Gelber.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, of all times, videos of fights and bad behavior have swarmed social media.

"Recent images of out of control behavior have become too common and shocking during a pandemic," said Mayor Gelber.

It's why the mayor wants to reimagine a new South Beach.

He is proposing to make the town less of an entertainment scene and more of an arts and culture environment.

"The current entertainment South Beach has become too difficult and costly to police. That is why next week I will refer to our commission committees a series of measures intended to alter the texture and the physical structure of Ocean Drive," said Mayor Gelber.

The midnight call for alcohol would affect all restaurants, bars and clubs on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue between 5th and 16th Street.

Businesses that would wish to serve alcohol pass midnight, would have to apply for a conditional use permit.

Skyler Styles, the entertainment manager at Palace, said this is just not going to work.

"We are a restaurant and a night club, so 8 o'clock is difficult now. But 12 o'clock moving forward, it would be detrimental," said Styles.

Styles said South Beach was already hit with this pandemic.

"I think it would only put more pressure on the businesses for us to get creative and make money. He's just going to make it worse," said Styles.

The mayor is set to meet next week with the city commission to vote on whether to refer this proposal to the city's planning committee.

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