The exterior restrooms at the North Beach Senior Center are currently only open Saturdays and Sunday 7am to 8pm. The remainder of the public restrooms along the Beach are open daily from 7am to 8pm, with some (6th, 10th, and 14th street) open until 10pm or midnight. The decision to limit the operating hours of the Center’s bathrooms at the recommendation of Miami Beach Police Department (“MBPD”) was in response to numerous complaints from the Center's patrons and staff, park staff, and the residents of the adjacent Burleigh House Condominiums. Unlike other restrooms on the Beach, the Center's restrooms are fully enclosed, posing several safety issues. The complaints mainly centered around increased vagrancy in the park, use of the restrooms for bathing by the area’s homeless population, vandalism, the use of the restrooms for illicit activity, and the inability to maintain the restrooms in acceptable working order due to extraordinary wear and tear imposed on the facility, including the presence of biohazardous material.
Since September 2022, the restrooms have remained closed Monday-Friday based on the continued threat to the safety of the Center’s patrons and the availability of an alternate restroom located approximately 0.2 miles away at 75th street (Altos Del Mar). In a correspondence dated August 22, 2023, MBPD reported the following update:
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Crime and complaints of crime have been greatly reduced at Bandshell Park / UNIDAD ... have not received a complaint from UNIDAD management in a while.
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Our homeless population in the park has also been greatly reduced.
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Arrests have diminished at this location.
The closure of the bathrooms did achieve the outcome of making the area around the 72nd Street safer for the generally more vulnerable population that frequents the Center. The Altos del Mar (75th Street) restrooms were deemed to be the most convenient alternative for beachgoers and users of the volleyball courts at 72nd Street, as the next closest restroom to the south is 0.7 miles away at 64th Street. The approximately 0.9-mile separation between the 64th Street. restrooms and those on 75th Street is consistent with the average separation of other restrooms on the Beach. Therefore, it does not pose any greater inconvenience than most other beach bathrooms. The complaints against the closure of the restroom that have been brought to the attention of the Administration have been few and limited. Conversely, the requests to law enforcement and to the Administration for the closure of the restrooms were numerous, from nearby residents, park users, elderly patrons, and Center staff.
The Altos de Mar (75th Street) restrooms' open floorplan and proximity to other open-air public facilities allow for greater ability to police the area. The concern with reopening the bathrooms at the Center will require overcommitting resources across both locations. If reopening the Center's restrooms was deemed necessary, it would be the opinion of MBPD that the following mitigation remedies be implemented:
- A guard be present during restroom open hours.
- A park ranger be assigned to this park during restroom open hours.
- A city contractor (cleaning attendant) be assigned during restroom open hours (this already occurs on weekends)
Providing the Center's with a security “attendant” would discourage vagrancy and provide greater surveillance to the area. The approximate cost of staffing a security guard would be $28 per hour, providing 13-hour coverage, 5 days a week (7am-8pm, Monday-Friday). The fiscal impact of this annual expense is approximately $95,000.