Flagler Ave. businesses thankful for police presence during spring break in NSB

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — As spring breakers arrive to soak up the sun, the New Smyrna Beach Police Department has increased patrols to ensure safety.

Last week, a 16-year-old from Lakeland pulled a gun during a fight amid a crowd of spring breakers at the beach and was arrested after running into the ocean and tossing the gun along with marijuana into the surf. An 18-year-old Lakeland man on his way to the city for spring break was arrested the next day after police found a handgun inside the car he was driving.

But the situation, according to business owners on Flagler Avenue and police, is far from being out of control.

That is due to several preventative measures in place that for the last two years have changed spring break in the city.

In 2022, New Smyrna Beach saw hundreds of spring breakers flood the town and wreak havoc along the main business district.

Since then, a citywide spring break curfew for minors has been in place and the department has amped up its presence, especially on Flagler Avenue — the most popular destination for visitors.

NSB police chief warns spring breakers to follow the rules

In a video alongside Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood early this month, New Smyrna Beach Police Chief Eric Feldman shared a message to incoming visitors.

“We continue to be a welcoming place for everybody to come and enjoy our beaches,” Feldman said. “However, we will have a lot of police officers out here … . If you are under 18 and you’re looking to come have a good time, just be aware we’ll be strictly enforcing our ordinances and laws and traffic laws.”

Sheriff’s office deputies, New Smyrna Beach and other city police officers are part of the operation. The department also has a mobile command center at the Flagler Avenue Beachfront Park.

In an email to The News-Journal last week, Deputy Chief of Police Chris Kirk said the department was expecting the busiest part of spring break to begin this week.

“As has been the case for the last couple of years, most of the kids are cooperative, but some are not,” he wrote on Friday. “We expect the next 10 days to yield the greatest influx of visitors and incidents.”

Flagler Avenue business owners thankful for police presence

Flagler’s business owners took notice to such incidents earlier this week.

Rudy Guerrero, owner of BeachSyde Syren, a small gift shop on Flagler Avenue, said he said he saw police giving tickets “to a lot of kids” on Monday.

“They were pulling over kids left and right, whether they were drinking, speeding, I don’t know what they were doing,” he said.

He is thankful, however, for the police presence along Flagler Avenue, which “has kept the riffraff out.”

“I can see the degree of the over-policing … . Even to the adults, it looks a little overwhelming,” Guerrero said. “I wouldn’t reduce any of it. I think it does exactly what it’s supposed to be doing — deterring the shenanigans, the hooligans and it keeps the thieves away.”

While a part of the spring break crowd causes trouble every year, Guerrero said the past two years have been nothing like 2022, when “it got a little scary.”

“It’s diminished quite a bit,” he said. “I think we have the right amount of caution. If kids think they can supersede that, well, then go ahead — let’s see what happens."

'The officers aren't playing'

Lori Corbi, manager of the Seahorse Inn hotel at 423 Flagler Ave., has also seen some spring breakers causing trouble in the area.

“They’re high-schoolers, not even college kids, they’re not spending any money on the avenue,” Corbi said. “All they want to do is wreak havoc.”

Corbi has been the hotel's manager since February 2023 and wasn't in town for 2022’s spring break, but she sees how the situation can get out of hand if not for the police presence.

“The officers aren’t playing,” she said. “They’re not giving them an inch, which is unfortunately what has to happen. They can’t behave.”

Robert Conlin, a frequent guest at the hotel has seen several spring break crowds over the years, said the police “were tough” in 2023.

Corbin praised the officers' "restraint" in dealing with the 16-year-old who pulled a gun at the beach last week amid a crowd of spring breakers.

"If he had popped off a shot, the cops wouldn't have been able to, not that I wanted the kid to get shot, but because of the amount of people around, (it would have been) too dangerous," she said, adding that she was surprised to see many bystanders choosing to film the incident instead of running from the scene.

Corbin also remembers police officers enforcing the curfew by stopping kids on the street around 11 p.m. and midnight and telling them to go home.

“They’re not even old enough to go in the bars and they’re just milling around,” she said.

‘You wouldn’t know it’s spring break’

Stephanie Ferris, an employee at Janie’s Boutique, said the situation “is much better” over the past few years.

Ferris and her husband live near the store; she worked at the Flagler Tavern restaurant in 2022.

“I remember being scared to death to walk home,” Ferris said of the nighttime hours two years ago. “The street literally had a row of teenagers just walking on the street — the cars couldn’t even get passed them.”

Even though the crowd looks bigger this year than 2023, Ferris said things are still under control.

“They (the police) have been on top of people parking where they’re not supposed to,” Ferris said. “The noise level at night has not been anything this year. It’s been great … . You wouldn’t know it’s spring break.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: New Smyrna Beach Police presence keeps spring break 2024 under control