“In a way, it feels like our city is a tinder right now,” Gelber said on CNN’s “New Day.” “It’s not just about not wearing masks and taking physical distance. It’s also about some of the people who come with bad intentions, so there have been fights and even gunfights.
“When you have so many crowds, you can’t really make it unless you have huge policing, and all that mix creates a lot of danger and a lot of worry.”
On Saturday night, police fired pepper balls in an attempt to disrupt crowds of mostly maskless partygoers on the city’s main streets.
Bridges and dams are closed on those days from 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. Local residents, hotel guests and employees are exempt from these rules.
City Manager Raul Aguila has the option to extend it for another two weeks until April 13.
“The goal here is to really contain the overwhelming crowd of visitors, and the potential for violent disruption and property damage, whether intentional or not,” Aguila said.
Gelber said he hoped an extension would not be necessary, but ‘it is needed now because what we see is unacceptable and we cannot allow our police, our residents and, frankly, our visitors to be in danger as well. . . “
The crowds became so great that the police from nearby agencies came to help. Gelber said someone shot a shot in the air on Friday evening.
When asked who he blamed for the influx of spring breakers, Gelber said the Florida state economy opening of Gov. Ron DeSantis did not help.
The state has thrown its doors open to tourists after a year of coronavirus blockades and restrictions across the country.
“At the moment we are asked to take in all the people who come,” said Gelber on “New Day”. “The governor has said everything is open, come on down.
“The problem is we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. It’s definitely not in our rearview mirror yet and it’s definitely not in my country, in my city. So that’s a challenge … We kind of have a triple threat from too many crowds, too many acting people and a pandemic. And those three together make for a very challenging moment. “
CNN’s Melissa Alonso, Theresa Waldrop and Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.