MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The latest fight for Ocean Drive in Miami Beach is taking shape at a beachfront condominium-hotel.
Miami Beach confirmed Monday that a business will soon open at the Netherland, 1330 Ocean Drive, under the name King of Diamonds, a popular strip club in North Miami known for parties that draw large crowds and celebrities.
"A strip joint seems a little odd for, like, the scenery," tourist Angie Duran said.
The news is already drawing the ire of some who believe a strip club or anything associated with one is the last thing Ocean Drive needs.
"You've got families all right here going to the beach and, you know, coming from the beach. They're walking right past it, and to have a strip joint right here, I don't think it's a great idea," resident Klaus Hunger said.
The owner of the Sherbrooke All Suites Hotel, a few blocks south on Collins Avenue, expressed his dismay. Mitch Novick has been a vocal critic of the type of crowds being lured to South Beach by businesses in recent years.
"I could understand why a strip club would want to be here," he said. "This place has deteriorated to such a point (that) it would be the perfect venue."
City rules prohibit a new strip club from opening anywhere in Miami Beach, but Novick believes where there's a will, there's a way.
"They will find a loophole," Novick said. "Whether it will be no alcohol service or pasties over the nipples, they will find a way to open."
Last year, Miami Beach prohibited the sale of alcohol on sidewalk cafes after 2 a.m.
The city attorney penned a letter last week to the mayor and commissioners saying the business operator was told that an adult entertainment establishment would not be allowed to open. The letter went on to say that the city manager will be briefing city leaders this week.
Calls to the King of Diamonds went unanswered.