Mayor Dan Gelber wants alcohol sales to end at 2 a.m. in South Beach for 17 days in March. It’s 5 a.m. now across the city. “No community wants to have (a) hard-drinking, hard-partying, anything-goes atmosphere,” he said. City commissioners were expected to discuss the issue Wednesday ahead of a preliminary vote. It could then be finalized at a Feb. 26 commission meeting. If approved, the reduced drinking hours would begin March 6. Critics argue it’s too quick of a turnaround. Many bars, restaurants, and hotels already have their spring break plans in place, and business owners claim the proposal is really throwing them a curveball. “I have 80 hotels just between Ocean Drive and Collins (Avenue). They’re fully booked. They are at the highest rates for March,” Ceci Velasco, executive director of the Ocean Drive Association, said.
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