Lawsuit Filed To Stop City of Miami Beach Midnight Curfew
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Papi's Steakhouse is suing the city of Miami Beach to stop its curfew. A judge could hear the case as early as Friday morning, though the damage has already been done at some businesses.
"You know there is a safety issue, and there has been for a while," Megan Nazari said. "But to be honest with you, I think we're a little bit far removed from what's going on."
She's crushed. Together with her family she runs Do Not Sit On The Furniture, a night venue on the corner of 16 Street and Washington Avenue.
"So we were super excited, we've been working on this for six months. Do Not Sit On The Furniture has been here for nine years, but we're known for bringing some of the best house music and underground DJs from around the world," said Nazari.
The venue had booked a long list of performers. Nazari rescheduled them to perform from 7 p.m. to midnight but had to issue many refunds. Nazari also told CBS4 she had hoped this weekend would set up a cushion to get through the slower summer months.
"People start coming here after 10-11 p.m. We all rely on all these customers," she said.
The decision to impose a midnight curfew came on Monday after two shootings on Ocean Drive left five people injured. That has left businesses blocks away wondering why they are being hit with the same curfew.
"I'm used to having a line and I haven't had a line since Spring Break started," Nathan Smith, owner of Nathan's Bar, said.
Smith is two streets from Ocean Drive. He thinks the city has to rethink spring break overall.
"If it's gonna keep the city safe, then maybe restructure spring break let's hope for that," he said.
Nazari still questions the overall fairness of enacting a curfew that affects so many businesses across Miami Beach. It's especially tough after months of lost revenue during the pandemic.
"It's sad because I don't want to see nightlife die here. I think culturally we need this. We're not in the area where this is happening, there has to be a bigger police presence, there has to be better solutions, rather than economically hurting us," Nazari added.
She hopes to speak with the mayor soon. But she's worried that this could happen again with the Miami Grand Prix coming up.