Ricky Arriola, another city commissioner, said at the group’s emergency meeting: ‘Closing business can not be the way the city does business. It’s an embarrassment, and it just shows that we do not know what we are doing. ”
Mr. Arriola also said the city should start planning for the next busy time. “We were caught flat-footed during this spring break, and we’re going straight for the battle of Memorial Day weekend.”
Businesses about 30 miles north, in the city of Fort Lauderdale, are watching developments in Miami Beach. “We’ve been watching this very closely,” Dan Lindblade, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, said Sunday night. “We will do everything we have to do to make sure we do not have the same situation up here.”
Fort Lauderdale dealt with similar problems during the spring break in the 1980s and early 90s until the city and businesses decided to make some changes, he said. One big change: hotels have started charging more for rooms. “We do not give a crowd of less than $ 150 a night,” he said. Lindblade said, adding, “We’re between $ 300 and $ 500 a night, and that’s just another crowd.”
The effect, according to Mr. Lindblade, was remarkable. “It’s a family-oriented atmosphere,” he said, “and it was great for our economy.”
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Sunday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Around the corner, a group of police officers stood quietly and talked to each other and shouted for people to go home.