Miami Beach spring break crackdown sends partiers packing to other beach towns
The mayor of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, which is nestled between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, says Miami Beach's recent crackdown on spring breakers may have sent some partiers north to her town.
Her comments come after the Sunny Isles Police Department said it "swiftly and efficiently" broke up a large and unpermitted beach gathering on March 21 with help from neighboring agencies.
"I can tell you that we've always been a popular place because we have such beautiful beaches. … We had that very, very large group — something that we're not used to. That was unusual," Sunny Isles Mayor Larisa Svechin told Fox News Digital. "Was that a result of the warnings from Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale? Probably. I would say yes. But once we got out there, we were able to bring everything back to order within less than two hours."
Svechin said the town's police department responded rapidly and made clear they "don't play around" and are "not going to tolerate any lawlessness."
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"Certainly, this wasn't about being able to enjoy the beach. Myself as a teenager enjoyed the beach very much. This is not about that," Svechin said. "This is about underage drinking and … consequently, fighting and unsafe activity that we are not going to tolerate."
Party-goers apparently spread a social media post promoting the unpermitted event, which drew a large crowd to the beach, according to local news outlet WSVN.
Miami Beach police issued a reality-TV-themed ad campaign last month warning spring breakers that authorities would be on the lookout for unlawful behavior. The ad has apparently deterred spring breakers from visiting Miami and inspired alternative trips to Sunny Isles and Fort Lauderdale.
WATCH THE MIAMI BEACH AD:
Fort Lauderdale also issued a warning to spring breakers but took a slightly different tune than Miami Beach PD, telling tourists to "know the rules" and "enjoy our city responsibly."
But Svechin said local leaders have changed their tune on spring break in recent years, prioritizing residents over visitors moreso than they did in the past.
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"As you establish yourself more, and you're able to have businesses and long-term residents, not so many transient residents as we used to, you start to have certain values of the city," the mayor said.
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She added that South Florida cities appear to have come to a kind of agreement: that visitors should "come enjoy" the area's beaches, but "behave" themselves.
"Because our residents are the ones that are paying for the infrastructure," Svechin said. "We're paying for the police to come out and make sure everyone is safe. We're paying for the cleaning of the beaches, we're paying for the roads, we're paying for all of this."
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The residents of Sunny Isles Beach and other Florida beach towns "deserve to have peace and quiet," she said, adding that residents in the area aren't made up of so many "snowbirds" as they were in years prior; there are more permanent residents than ever before after the state saw an influx of new residents during the pandemic.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis similarly said during a press conference earlier this month that spring break in Miami saw wild crowds beginning around 2020, when people escaped to Florida during the pandemic because its businesses and public areas remained open while other states were still shut down.
"We were thankful for that. Honestly, a lot of businesses came here and never went back. People came here and never went back because they appreciated the quality of life," DeSantis said, "but it also got out of control."
The governor added that he was directing state law enforcement to provide additional personnel and assets to Miami Beach and other spring break hot spots over the coming weeks.