4 March 23-29, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | ▼ MIAMI BEACH LAST HURRAH? THIRTY MORE DAYS OF EARLY MORNING BOOZING IN MIAMI BEACH. BY IZZY KAPNICK A Miami judge has agreed to temporarily suspend enforce- ment of Miami Beach’s new 2 a.m. liquor cutoff in the South of Fifth district, in a decision that enables local clubs and bars to cash in on the early morning party rush during Miami Music Week. The 30-day stay was granted in a civil case brought by Amnesia International, AKA Story Nightclub, which warned that allowing the ordinance to abruptly take effect would jeopardize the club’s business and put its em- ployees out of work on short notice. In a March 14 ruling, Miami-Dade County Judge Reemberto Diaz denied Story Night- club’s request to outright block the ordi- nance. But he is allowing the ordinance to be suspended for 30 days while his ruling is on emergency appeal. Once the brief stay is over, the ordinance would force a handful of bars and clubs in the South of Fifth district to move up their last call for alcohol from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. Other ar- eas of Miami Beach are not affected by the new rules, which the Miami Beach city com- mission passed on February 22. Story and others are banking on after-2 a.m. liquor sales to pad their revenue during Miami Music Week, which kicks off March 21 and includes dozens of late-night parties, not to mention Ultra Music Festival. The festivi- ties propel thousands of partygoers to imbibe until the wee hours, providing an alcohol rev- enue boon to the hospitality industry. If Story and other challengers lose their appellate battle, this could be the last year that party-goers can rage till 5 a.m. in the South of Fifth district during Miami Music Week revelry. In the long run, Story claims it won’t sur- vive at its current location if the ordinance is allowed to take effect. Its parties often reach their climax after 2 a.m. as do its liquor sales, the club says. Story filed the court challenge last month, claiming the ordinance unfairly singles out large clubs and bars while allowing smaller businesses to keep serving booze till the early morning hours. The club pointed to an excep- tion in the ordinance that allows businesses with less than a 100-person capacity to keep serving until 5 a.m. so long as they don’t sell booze outdoors after 2 a.m. The club cited comments by city commis- sioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, who said at the February 22 commission meeting that she would back a liquor ordinance that would “eliminate Story [and] the nightclubs in the neighborhood, which seem to be the primary problem,” but that she wanted an exception for smaller businesses. In rejecting the request for an injunction, Judge Diaz wrote this week that the “court must not interfere with the political judg- ment” of Miami Beach officials “merely be- cause it disagrees with the outcome or with comments” they make. Diaz found that the city has a legitimate interest in regulating li- quor sales and that the ordinance was ratio- nally related to furthering that interest. The 30-day suspension of the ordinance was entered March 15. It covers Miami Music Week plus the subsequent two and half weeks ending in mid-April. Story’s property has been a nightclub hotspot since the early 1990s, operating un- der the Opium Garden brand and then as Am- nesia. It was opened in its current incarnation in 2012 by hospitality guru David Grutman and Groot Hospitality, the company behind the LIV nightclub in Fontainebleau. Jeffrey Soffer, co-owner of Story and Fontainebleau chief executive, recently bought the Story property for $23 million. “Hundreds of people depend on their Story for their livelihoods and we could not be more grateful that they have the oppor- tunity to stay in business as we begin the ap- peals process,” Story’s attorney Sean Burstyn said in a statement cited in a Local 10 report. Miami Beach Dan Gelber has defended the ordinance, saying that the South of Fifth district is a “residential neighborhood that should not have to endure 24-hour night- clubs.” “The ordinance implements the will of Miami Beach voters who voted in November 2021 in favor of rolling back alcohol sales hours to 2 a.m., while allowing the city to cre- ate exceptions as appropriate,” Miami Beach’s attorney Joseph Serota argued on March 10. | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS Story got a last-minute salvation, just in time for Miami Music Week. Photo by Karli Evans ▼ FLORIDA PREPPIN’ IN PARADISE FLORIDA IS PACKED WITH “SURVIVALISTS,” SURVEY CLAIMS. BY ALEX DELUCA A balmy climate, beaches, and gun- strapped bunkers galore — what other reasons do you need to move down to the Sunshine State? A new survey from the disaster-prepping site Primal Survivor found that more than half of all Americans consider themselves “survivalists,” people gearing up for imminent disaster or the end of the world as we know it. (Think Nick Of- ferman’s character in The Last of Us, or perhaps your snowbird neighbors stockpiling for their first hurricane season.) While Hawaii has the highest proportion of doomsday preppers and survivalists, according to the survey, Florida doesn’t fall far behind, with a reported 62 percent of Floridians saying they’re actively preparing for the worst. The prepper movement was once considered a fringe phenomenon with a few potential high- profile backers like Hollywood star Tom Cruise, who reportedly planned to build himself a $10 million survival bunker beneath his Colorado mansion. But it’s become more mainstream in recent years thanks to COVID-19, climate change concerns, and good old-fashioned primal terror. According to the online survey of 3,000 peo- ple, 16 percent said they were preparing for eco- nomic uncertainty, while 14 percent anticipated international conflict. Over half of all respon- dents said extreme natural weather events had drawn them to disaster prepping. The recent meandering of Chinese spy bal- loons across the U.S. has “motivated 34 percent of respondents to become more involved in prepping,” the survey says. “The pandemic has also led to a 54 percent increase in individuals who previously did not consider themselves survivalists but are now more likely to join the movement,” the poll adds. Florida’s high prevalence of survivalists may come as little surprise given the state’s long his- tory of devastating hurricanes. As recently as early March, the Miami Beach Convention Center hosted the Storm Expo Miami, the country’s “leading event in preventing and managing damage caused by storms,” featuring speakers from state and local emergency management departments. In late April, there will be a two-day “Homesteading and Prepping Summit” in Elkton, a small unincorporated town near Jacksonville whose most prominent landmark is its post office. There appears to be an active online commu- nity in Florida dedicated to the survivalist life- style. One website called “Florida Prepper” lists dozens of pages of survivalist tips, including lengthy articles on “Survival Cooking Without Power” and “Rain Water Collecting for Disasters.” A Facebook group linked to the site has more than 1,200 members; a cover photo for the group depicts an asteroid hurling toward a field where a child is standing next to a bike. “This group is for how to prepare for the worst,” the group’s bio reads. “Preparing for disas- ter and survival is now more important than ever.” Meanwhile, other states across the country seem to be pondering the idea of Armageddon far less. Rhode Island, for one, had only 17 per- cent of its survey respondents describe them- selves as survivalists. [email protected] “THE PANDEMIC HAS LED TO A 54 PERCENT INCREASE IN INDIVIDUALS WHO PREVIOUSLY DID NOT CONSIDER THEMSELVES SURVIVALISTS.”
