Aspiring model Paula Sladewski went missing after leaving Club Space shortly after 7 a.m. New Year's Eve weekend. Her body was found later that day on fire in a North Miami trash bin. The murder follows a small but shocking rash of violence and murder in Miami-Dade clubs that operate under both regular and extended hours.
Now Sladewski's sister, Kelly Farris, a resident of Michigan, has written a letter to Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff asking to put an end to 24-hour clubs.
"Any commissioner that truly cares about people will not allow clubs to serve alcohol 24 hours a day, this is insanity," Farris wrote. "I live in Michigan, and we do not allow clubs to serve alcohol past 2am, this is a very reasonable time [a reasonable concession to the liquor industry]. I have also heard that the 24 hour clubs have a long history of criminal and drug activity. I understand that you have stopped the sale of alcohol at 3 am in your neighborhood. But, you have done nothing to stop the 24-clubs [in other neighborhoods], this is shameful."
Clubs with 24-hour liquor licenses are allowed to operate only within the Downtown Entertainment District. Only a small number of clubs, including Space, have the licenses. Most clubs in Miami-Dade are allowed to stay open until 5 a.m., with Coconut Grove opting to enforce a controversial 3 a.m. last call that was supported by Commissioner Sarnoff.
Here is Farris's full letter:
Chairman Marc Sarnoff,
I write to you with great sadness and agony over my sister, Paula Sladewski's, death. She was last seen alive in the district that you are commissioner of. Regrettably, she was later found dead. She was a beautiful woman filled with great hope and had a wonderful life ahead of her.
I am not sure how politics work in Miami, but I ask you to please put politics aside and do what is morally right. I understand that you have assembled a panel to decide on the closing times for clubs. Any commissioner that truly cares about people will not allow clubs to serve alcohol 24 hours a day, this is insanity. I live in Michigan, and we do not allow clubs to serve alcohol past 2am, this is a very reasonable time [that is a more than reasonable concession to the liquor industry]. I have also heard that the 24 hour clubs have a long history of criminal and drug activity. I understand that you have stopped the sale of alcohol at 3 am in your neighborhood. But, you have done nothing to stop the 24-clubs [in other neighborhoods], this is shameful. My sister's life is not the only life that has needlessly been taken; I know that there have been other [deaths] associated to the 24-hour clubs. A 30 year old DJ strangled an 18 year old girl, Jaclyn Torrealba. Ms Torrealba was also last seen at Club Space. What more of a wake call do you need? How many more girls need to be last seen in your district?
I am pleading to you and to your panel to put an end to clubs that serve alcohol 24 hours a day. My sister's life is gone let's hope and pray that you will stop this before another life is needlessly ended.
Sincerely,Kelly Farris
