A USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon, top, and a P-51 Mustang participate in the Heritage Fly over South Beach during the Hyundai Air & Sea Show on May 28.
pportal@miamiherald.com
Something strange happened on the streets of South Beach this past Memorial Day weekend: Not much at all, at least in the way of revelry gone awry, as has been the tradition.
For the first time in about 20 years, there were no unruly crowds or rampant misbehavior. The crowds were well-behaved. City leaders said arrests were down 50% from last year between Friday and Memorial Day Monday.
No shots fired; no SWAT tanks called for crowd control — or intimidation — and police and visitors seemed to have coexisted peacefully. Wow. Police reported 90 arrests citywide — down from 156 last year, a police spokesman said.
In short, no major news stories emerged from South Beach during the holiday weekend. We’re not used to such relative quiet. Usually, days after the holiday weekend, community leaders are picking up the pieces, trying to figure out what went wrong and how to stop it from happening again.
Well, someone figured something out, because it didn’t happen again. Not this year. And that is important news. It’s a solid sign that Mayor Dan Gelber’s plan to transform the city’s entertainment district from party central may be taking hold.
Weary residents will be glad that Gelber’s 12-point plan might be taking hold; not so much South Beach merchants.
‘Party till you drop’ no more
In recent years, Gelber has made it clear he has had it with visitors, spring breakers and Memorial Day weekend revelers, who come to Miami Beach with an “anything goes” attitude. It all began in 2001 when South Beach suddenly became an Urban Beach Week destination. Through the years, the crowds have been mainly African American, adding the cloud of racism — whether real or perceived — to the effort to end the party year after year.
Since elected, Gelber has slowly rolled up the welcome mat with little success — until this year.
Gelber told the Editorial Board the shift in the atmosphere last weekend “was not an illusion.” he said. “People got the opportunity to celebrate Memorial Day weekend experiencing the freedoms so many have fought and died for.” Gelber was referring to the many patriotic and military events the city staged.
Not everyone was cheering the disappearing crowds, with money in their pockets.
Miami Beach attorney Melba Pearson, a member of the Miami Beach Black Affairs Advisory Committee, said the city’s unwelcoming attitude toward young visitors has finally worked.
“The bloom may be off the rose when it comes to South Beach and people of color,” said Pearson, who told the Board she is speaking as a Beach resident, activist and attorney. “You can only be treated in an unwelcome way — or see people who look like you being treated poorly — so many times before you make other choices.
“Black visitors may be making other choices as to where to spend their dollars. It’s unfortunate from an economic as well as diversity standpoint.”
She’s right.
Changing the atmosphere
How did the city change the narrative?
Three significant actions, we suspect, by just glancing at the city’s website:
Advertising nationwide that only those wanting to party responsibly were welcome, setting up strict rules for the crowd; and by staging Memorial Day weekend events that attracted families and an older crowd.
For years, the city was criticized for not sponsoring events to entertain the crowds, instead allowing the impromptu street parties to be the main attraction fueled by nightclub liquor sales. This year, the city had a calendar of events for the three-day weekend.
The city also issued a strict list of Do’s and Don’ts to visitors, a party-pooper list, of sorts. It limited how people partied, where they could congregate, what motorized vehicles they could rent and where they can drive along “high impact areas,” according to Miami Herald Beach reporter Martin Vassolo.
This year, it seems Gelber and City Manager Alina Hudak took planning seriously following spring break in March when five people were injured in shootings on South Beach. The city kept the crowds corralled with barricades, a midnight curfew went into effect and liquor sales stopped at midnight.
Visitors appeared on national television declaring that their Miami Beach vacation was ruined by all the policing. Clever — the very message the city likely wanted to get out, which makes no sense for a tourist destination, though it does for one seeking a reset.
The city also sponsored family-oriented events and concerts. The premier event was the Hyundai Air & Sea Show, which attracted those who wanted to sunbathe and look up at the show in the sky. The combination appeared to work.
We must say that Miami Beach is not the only city that has uninvited young vacationers. The city of Fort Lauderdale did the same years ago with spring break. It survived.
Can South Beach?
That’s the next big task for the mayor — convincing residents and merchants that his new vision will be profitable for everyone.
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