Unruly Spring Breakers Force Popular Clevelander Hotel Restaurant To Temporarily Close
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A dangerous situation has forced the popular restaurant at the Clevelander Hotel to shut its doors in Miami Beach.
A fight left behind damages at the popular South Beach destination.
Now, a sign has been placed at the entrance of the popular beach hotel.
The sign reads, "We have grown increasingly concerned with the safety of our dedicated employees and valued customers and the ability for the city to maintain a safe environment."
The document goes on to say that as a result, they are closing their doors till next week.
"I don't blame them for wanting to close," said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber.
Gelber says for years he's been pushing to revamp South Beach to a more family-friendly environment and says the increased crime is the result of the party atmosphere that is now synonymous with South Beach.
"We have made this area into an anything-goes area, it's sort of a come here play, play, play area instead of a work-play live area. So for me, I want to diversify there, so it's not just 105 bars opened till 5 am."
To help control the crowd and prevent similar incidents Miami Beach police has increased their patrols and have implemented a no-tolerance policy.
Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez said, "In the past 5 1/2 weeks, we've seen over 900 arrests here in our city. We issued more than 5,000 traffic citations. Last night alone, close to two dozen arrests were made just in our entertainment district."
Fifty percent of those arrests are people from out of the state, 374 from Miami-Dade, 94 from Miami Beach, 141 homeless, 78 live else where in Florida.
Miami Beach police have partnered with multiple law enforcement agencies to help patrol the beach and to help process those who are arrested.
"It's a dangerous situation for our community. It's a dangerous situation for officers and that's why it's important that we act quickly and utilize tactics like pepper balls to disperse crowds," said Rodriguez.
Even though the patio and bar is closed, the Clevelander Hotel will remain open, and those hotel guests will still have access to their pool, restaurant, and rooftop.
