The City of Fort Lauderdale has completely stopped enforcing any COVID restrictions; virtually every restaurant I've visited has been crowded with almost nobody wearing masks. I didn't see 1 person wearing a mask at Salt 7 on a Friday night.
While there are police at the beach; there always are during spring break, so this is nothing new. Nobody is wearing masks at the beach, nor are they distancing.
Not 1 restaurant or bar has been issued a citation since early January, and there's been virtually no enforcement since last summer. Restaurants are packed every weekend and there have been no citations issued to anyone.
These are all of the citations issued on Las Olas since last summer.
While I personally don't think that people should have to wear masks to walk through a restaurant to go to the bathroom, I also do think that if they're going to push the Mask narrative they should at least enforce their restrictions in at least the egregious cases. They're basically telling us we'll die if we don't wear a mask in the supermarket but going to a crowded restaurant or club is just fine, which is completely backwards.
The reason of course is that the rich people who own the restaurants fund the campaigns of the people in charge. Let's not pretend this whole thing is anything other than politics.
Update 8/7/20
There hasn't been 1 Violation Citation issued to any Business on Las Olas since July 17. So if everyone is in compliance, why are we still under curfew? Why are bars still closed?
2 More code cases on Louie Bossies. 1 inspection was done at 1:51 PM, the second at 1:59 PM.
So let me get this straight. Someone issues a complaint at 9pm on Wednesday night on the City's tattletale App; and they send an inspector the next day after lunch hours to check it out. If you saw this on a reality TV show you'd turn it off in disgust as to being too ridiculous to be true.
You look at this chart and you'd say "maybe anonymous tips aren't credible", but drilling down on the cases tells us that the City of Fort Lauderdale is not serious about protecting it's citizens.
Code Department is Incompetent
I've been following code cases for years, and I see no more diligence in enforcing public health than I've seen in any other minor code violation. More troubling is that I see no brain power at work in the department in terms of how to enforce the guidelines. When someone reports an illegal sign; the sign will be there at 2pm the next day. But when someone reports a full restaurant at 8pm; you can't investigate this at 2pm the next day. It's just stupid; what we have here is civil service employees collecting a paycheck. They really couldn't give a crap about the guidelines or protecting the public.
Update 7/25/20
Let's Talk Louie Bossi's
Since re-opening, there have been 5 code cases filed against Louie Bossi's for "social distancing non-compliance".
Inspection: 6/16 Tues 1:59pm: No Violation Found
Inspection: 6/21 Sun: 3:34pm: No Violation Found
Inspection: 6/24 Wed: 2:15pm: No Violation Found
Complaint: 6/25 - Closed due to previously open complaint
Inspection: 7/3 - Business shut down by MJ on "Covid-19 Detail"
Inspection: 7/4 Thu 10:13am: Business in Compliance
Notice the comments: They don't even open until Noon.
Are Code Officers Stupid, or on the Take?
So we have 3 inspections at times when all restaurants are dead empty (in between lunch and dinner), 1 violation in what appeared to be a sweep; and then a compliance re-inspection before the business is open with no re-inspection at dinner time? Are you seriously trying to tell me that Louie Bossi's hasn't had another prime time inspection since being shut down for non-compliance of public health regulations? This is how the City of Fort Lauderdale is pretending to protect the public?
Bossi's was fined $250, which is about a minute's revenue.
This is the most incompetent display of "code enforcement" imaginable. This is not some shop that has an extra chair on the sidewalk; this is public health. A business that is found to violate the rules should be subject to random inspection for a week. We've been told this is serious stuff, so why are code officers signing off on public health non-compliance by measuring table distance at 10am in the morning?
The Truth About Rules
The truth about guidelines is that big restaurants don't care about being fined. A manager at Big City Tavern once told me that they stayed open later than legally allowed because they made way more than the fine by doing so, so in the unlikely event someone cared, it was still a financial win.
With public health, the city has more power to enforce; they can shut businesses down. A business that failed a PUBLIC HEALTH inspection should be subject to random inspections for the next week; the same way parolees are subject to drug testing. How do you do a complaince inspection on a bar at 10 in the morning? I don't want to accuse anyone of being dishonest, but these officers either have no common sense or they're not really trying to do their job properly. Why hasn't someone in the city come up with a specialized plan for specialized times? Code officers are still spending their days tracking down citizen complaints by the Amy Coopers of society? They should be deployed strategically to do what's necessary to keep restaurants open and in compliance.
If It's about Public Health, Do your damn Job
Instead of shutting down 100s of businesses that have gone to great effort and expense to comply with the rules, why doesn't the city use their temporary big hammer to punish the businesses that EVERYONE KNOWS are the culprits? Why are code officers working at 10am? They should be working adjusted hours and sweeping their territories and doing random inspections all day every day, at times when EVERYONE KNOWS places are likely to be most crowded. Are you telling me that the City of Fort Lauderdale can shutter businesses and force us to wear masks but they can't dictate that Code Officers work when they're most needed to protect the public safety?
Code Officers Know their Area
Code officers have assigned regions; they should know the businesses in their region inside-out. They should know which ones are crowded, and when they're crowded. They drive the same streets every day. There's no excuse for ignorance.
Doing a social distancing inspection at 3pm is moronic. 7pm is when restaurants are busy; I can't find 1 inspection done at 7pm. On Friday and Saturday nights, every known gathering spot should EXPECT an inspection each and every night at random times. This is how you keep people in compliance.
Commissioners Need to Wise Up
Weak leaders follow others; they just do what other cities are doing. Good leaders understand the details of their communities and come up with solutions that fit their specific needs. We KNOW that there are a handful of bad actors in this city ruining it for everyone else. Use your heads for a change.
The truth is that 90% or business are in full compliance with the guidelines and shouldn't be punished because the multi-millionaires who own 250 seat restaurants are more concerned with their wallets than public safety. Fort Lauderdale doesn't need to shut down the mom and pops to enforce the guidelines; they need to do a better job enforcing the guidelines.
How about Suspending 4COP Licenses
Here's an idea. How about suspending all 4COP licenses in the city. Bars are already closed; so this only affect the big restaurants that are really bars masquerading as restaurants to take advantage of Florida's ridiculous liquor license system. Take out only. No consumption on premises. That would allow the small restaurants; the ones that can't afford another shutdown, to continue to operate while keeping the big restaurant bar crowd away.
The Commissioners need to figure out a way to punish the culprits without hurting 100s of small businesses who are in full compliance with the law. They have to do this because it's their job to find SOLUTIONS that serve the public's interest. It's not in anyone's interest to just shut down everything because they can't think of anything smarter to do.
Are they really this stupid?
We'll see what happens, but my guess is they'll pay nothing close to 15K, if anything at all.