Miami Beach

Party to Shut Down Early in South Beach As Curfew Goes Into Effect

The curfew in the Miami Beach entertainment district extends through the weekend and will end Monday morning.

NBC Universal, Inc.

The party will shut down early in South Beach Thursday night.

The nightly curfew under the emergency order went into effect Thursday at 11:59 p.m.

Bars, clubs and restaurants in the area will close at the same time.

The area bounded by 23rd Street and Dade Boulevard to the north will be affected.

Liquor stores will have to stop selling alcohol by 6:00 p.m.

The curfew extends through the weekend and will end Monday morning.

David Wallack, the owner of Mango's on Ocean Drive is ready for the early closure.

"We have to have everybody out by 11:59 (p.m.), and that means we have to turn the lights on 15 minutes before that and that’s how long it takes us to get everybody out," Wallack said.

Wallack said they had to cut at least 25 staffers each night.

"Sadly enough, we had to adjust our schedule to cut staff shifts and that’s very sad because that means a lot to their families. Weekends is really when hospitality workers' pay their rent and their electric bills," Wallack said.

He said between lost wages and expenses, they'll lose upwards of $100,000 over the weekend.

Though he understands the severity of the situation, he said he is hopeful city leaders hold off on making the same call next weekend.

"I hope they would review everything accordingly," Wallack said. 

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said Papi Steakhouse and Treehouse Miami have filed lawsuits against the city, challenging the curfew, at a time of booming business. 

Concerns are also being raised by Miami-Dade’s Black Advisory Board, which questioned if the curfew was an overreaction to the presence of black vacationers .

Some spring breakers said they might call an audible and head to Fort Lauderdale.

Police there tell NBC 6 they are constantly monitoring the situation in Miami Beach and have additional staff on their beach and downtown during the duration of spring break. 

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