Miami Beach clubs says they lost HALF-A-MILLION dollars from Spring Break curfew to crack down on raucous partiers who move to Fort Lauderdale for fun

• Local businesses have claimed they’ve lost out on weekend revenue as the curfew forced them to close their doors
• Officials added the curfew to try and cut down on spring breakers flocking to the town
• Partiers have turned their attention north of Miami, heading to clubs and businesses in Fort Lauderdale

Owners of Miami Beach clubs claim the Spring Break curfew has cost them thousands of dollars from the loss of crowds. 

Those same crowds are now heading north to Fort Lauderdale where videos and photos show a massive, and mostly safe, party scene. People have filled the beaches and bars in the city as officials welcome them following Miami Beach’s curfew. 

‘We want to say we thank you for shutting Miami down so we could come to this lovely place over here,’ Jy’meria Franklin told WPLG. 

While Fort Lauderdale welcomed the party, the scene has been different in Miami Beach. Crowds were noticeably lighter in front of the neon lights and glitzy hotels. Officials told spring breakers they wanted to ‘break up’ after las year’s fatal chaos. 

That ‘split’ has led to a loss in business for Miami Beach club owners. Michael Witt, an operator for M2, told 7News the club faced ‘up to half a million dollars’ in losses.

Ramain Zago, the owner of Mynt Lounge, said he was baffled by the city’s curfew decision – which came after a string of violence and shootings last year.

‘There was no chaos, there was no shooting, there was nothing – so why did it go to the curfew?’ he said.

Sultan Restaurant owner Dogan Tepecik said the curfew was hurting his bottom line as well. 

‘I can’t pay the bill, losing big business,’ she told WPLG. 

Local bar owners had challenged Miami Beach’s ordinance instituting a curfew. But, A judge determined it was ‘reasonable,’

The city’s weekend curfew is intended to curb the size of crowds. It was implemented on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, lasting from 11:59 pm until 6 am the following morning, and is set to expire tomorrow.

Anyone found to be violating the curfew will be fined or placed in custody.

Furthermore, the city designated a ‘Special Event Zone’ from 17th Street to South Pointe Park, effective from Friday evening until Monday morning.

Within this area, fines for noncriminal traffic infractions may be doubled and vehicles can be impounded for violations.

Last year, the former Miami Beach Mayor said he wanted to cancel Spring Break after fatal chaos broke out on more than one occasion. Then, a midnight curfew went into place following two deadly shootings.

This year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that he and his state-level employees are ‘ready to help our local communities maintain order’.

He’s ordered 140 state troopers out to various hot spots, and added that he is willing to send additional backup if necessary.

‘We don’t welcome mayhem,’ he said.

Miami Beach’s decision just caused the party to move north, with spring breakers declaring the city the ‘new Miami.’ In recent days, Thousands flocked to Florida beaches – with many drinking and some fighting in front of cops before passing out.

Officials said they made ten arrests between March 4 and March 12 in spring-break-related incidents. Offenses ranged from drug-related offenses to disorderedly conduct and battery on an officer.

But for the most part, videos and photos showed young people enjoying their spring break fun in Fort Lauderdale.  

‘They broke up with us, so we had to slide down to Fort Lauderdale,’ Kephene Wash, visiting from Tampa, told WPLG. 

Unlike Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale is ’embracing’ tourists, Mayor Dean Trantalis told USA TODAY.

‘We understand that spring break often brings young people who are looking to have a good time,’ he explained.

‘As long as, you know, they maintain a conduct that you know doesn’t destroy property…we feel that spring break is a welcome opportunity for Fort Lauderdale to host.’

Many Fort Lauderdale bars offered 2-for-1 deals to entice students into the booming establishments in time for St Patrick’s Day as others plumped to down their own concoctions on the beach – with one group consuming what they described as ‘leprechaun juice’ for the Irish celebration.

Bikini-clad revelers donned bright green bikini’s as they soaked up the sunshine and posed for selfies with glittery hats and shamrock headbands before squealing as they dived into the crystal blue waters.

University of Buffalo student Kaiya Washington, 22, told DailyMail.com that she headed for Fort Lauderdale because of the chaos and fatalities that had plagued Miami in previous years.

‘We’ve come for a week, last year we heard a lot about shootings in Miami and it generally being unsafe, so we came here,’ she said.

‘We’re so glad that we did, especially with the curfews and the cops being so strict in Miami – and we haven’t really heard of any shootings or much trouble here.’