LTC 211-2003
.7
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No. ~) J,..- 2.00 S
~
From:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez, . "'.-/
City Manager 0 ~
CLUB CLOSURES FOR UNDERAGE DRINKING
Date: September 8, 2003
To:
Subject:
This Letter to the Commission is to provide information on the status of the recent nightclub
closures for underage drinking in the 600 block of Washington Avenue. Underage persons
have been able to obtain alcoholic beverages at these locations in violation of state law.
This underage drinking contributes to the amount of disturbances, assaults, the vehicles
cruising, and the high level of noise emanating from the southern portion of the
Entertainment District. A review of calls for police service from two of these clubs alone
shows over 110 calls requiring the Police Department to send officers since August of
2002.
To combat this situation the undercover detectives from the Strategic Investigations Unit,
Code Enforcement Officers, ABT Officers and Officers from the Patrol Division undertook a
surveillance and undercover operation inside these clubs. As a result, bartenders and club
managers were arrested for selling alcohol to minors and the following were clubs closed
and/or cited for underage drinking:
. 7/27/03 La Reserved (643 Washington Ave)-overcrowding and underage drinking
. 8/3/03 The Union Bar (637 Washington Ave) - underage drinking
. 8/9/03 Club Deep (621 Washington Ave) - underage drinking
. 8/10/03 Club Honey (645 Washington Ave) - underage drinking
. 8/16/03 Club Six (685 Washington Ave) - underage drinking
. 8/16/03 Club Orchid (619 Washington Ave) - underage drinking
. 8/23/03 The Union Lounge (635 Washington Ave) - underage drinking
. 8/24/03 Club Mirage (671 Washington Ave) - underage drinking
Following the arrests and closures, warning letters were sent to the management of these
clubs. After several weeks of stringent enforcement action, an improvement is evident in
the number of clubs checking identification and turning away underage patrons. The
administration continues to focus on Quality of Life issues. This effort will be continued as
needed and we will prosecute them aggressively.
Attach~nt
JMG\dlJD\tr
F:\POLlIADMI\$CHI\2003\L TC Club Closures-Underage Drinking.doc
ACTION TAKE BY CODE ENFORCEMENT:
CLUB DATE CLOSED OR CITED VIOLATION
La Reserved 7/27/03 Closed Underage Drinking
643 Washington Ave Over-Crowdina
The Union Bar 8/3/03 Closed Underage Drinking
637 Washinaton Ave
The Union Lounge 8/23/03 Cited Underage Drinking
635 Washinaton Ave
ACTION BY POLICE, ABT, AND CODE:
CLUB DATE #OF #OF CLOSED CODE
UNDERAGE ARRESTS OR ENFORCMENT
PERSONS CITED VIOLATION
Club Deep 8/3/03 10 4 Closed Underage
621 Wash. Drinking
Club Honey 8/10/03 60 3 Closed Underage
645 Wash. Drinking
Club Six 8/16/03 5 Closed Underage
685 Wash. Drinking
Club Orchid 8/16/03 18 3 Closed Underage
619 Wash. Drinkina
Club Mirage 8/24/03 48 6 Closed Underage
671 Wash. Drinking