Anyone under the age of 18 in the mall after 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays must be accompanied -- at all times -- by a parent or legal guardian on Friday and Saturday.
This comes a little more than a month after a brawl between minors in front of the theater resulted in the arrest of 12 teenagers on Saturday, Aug 28.
Joe Szymaszek, vice president of retail operations for Turnberry Associates, which runs the mall, said the new rule was not related to the incident and had been under consideration for some time.
"We're committed to giving our customers a family friendly shopping, dinning and entertainment experience, and we believe this new policy supports that initiative.''
The AMC 24 movie theater and several restaurants are the only part of the mall still open at that hour, though some stores extend their hours during the holiday season.
The mall's new "parental escort policy,'' which starts this Friday, will likely irritate teenagers.
But many adult shoppers and moviegoers, however, may be glad to hear the news.
For Angelica Doval, 24, of Miami, the new rule is the right approach.
"I think it's a good idea just because for older people, like myself, if you're going on a date or whatnot, you're going to want to come and enjoy it,'' she said while visitting the mall during a recent weekday. "A lot of time minors kill the atmosphere with their immaturity, with their noise, just being childish. So I think if they have a guardian with them, they'll be better behaved.''
Andy Cunningham, 44, of Aventura, had a similar opinion.
"It will make my movie-going experience as an adult so much more pleasant because I won't have all of the nonsense these kids bring into the movie theater,'' he said.
Other malls around the country have adopted similar measures. In March, a theater in the Dallas area implemented a "family night'' policy that said no one under 17 was allowed in after 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday without a parent or legal guardian. In 2008, a theater in Harrisburg, Penn., barred anyone under 17 from attending movies after 9:30 p.m.
Those under 18, of course, had a different take on the issue.
North Miami Beach resident Rebecca Sonn, 17, said the rule was presented during a school assembly at North Miami Beach Senior High.
She thinks that the policy could ruin dates for younger students, and that it's fundamentally unfair.
"The kids that are mature shouldn't be punished for what a few immature kids did,'' she said.
Rebecca's mother, Teri Sonn, does not share her daughter's concern. While she thinks the movie theater will lose business, she believes the mall will be safer with the new policy -- and that her daughter can just make other plans on Friday and Saturday evenings.
"The mall is not a babysitting service,'' she said.
Prateek Sachdeva, 16 lives next to the mall. He said it's impossible for him to go to the mall during weekdays due to his class work, and he is concerned this will take away one of his few escapes. He thinks the mall administrators will regret their decision.
"I think when the mall realizes how much money it is losing due to this curfew, it won't take long till they revoke it,'' he said.
Prateek's father, Rajiv Sachdeva, also thinks the policy is unfair to his son. He said he'll try to plan weekends when they can go to the movies at the same time, but on some night's that won't be possible.
"I'm not in favor of that policy, it's a punishment for him,'' he said. `` We want to make him as independent as we possibly can. We have full faith in him.''
The rule will be enforced by both mall security guards and City of Aventura Police officers, who will be checking IDs inside the mall, Szymaszek said. While security staff will not be able to determine from the IDs checks whether an adult is the parent or legal guardian of the minor they are accompanying, Szymaszek said that ultimately the mall will have to depend on the "integrity of all patrons to which this policy applies.''
Zoila Marzo of Sunny Isles is 18, and was glad the policy won't affect her. She thinks it's "ridiculous'' and wonders what minors are supposed to do at night if they can't go to the mall.
"Young kids can't go out partying or clubbing, they come to the mall on weekends, so that will affect them a lot,'' she said. ``What else can they do? They're young.''
Student contributors Anthony Cave, Aly Garfinkle, and Eric Eidelstein assisted with this report.
