With Halloween just three weeks away with no sanctioned party, the City has been vague about how to deal with thousands of people who may still come to the Castro. After the Police – and most city agencies – did not attend a recent meeting of anxious neighbors, the Police Commission held a hearing on October 10th to find out what plans the City has for the “non-event.” Frankly, the answers are not encouraging. Besides a PR campaign telling people to “stay home,” the plan is to make the Castro so intimidating on Halloween that people won’t want to come. More cops will be on patrol, probationees are told they’ll be arrested if they come, the Muni stations will close early, and there will be no parking on Market or Castro. But while you can shut down a party, you can’t stop people from walking into the neighborhood. And while the City’s tactics may divert the majority of law-abiding citizens who usually come to the Castro, it may have the opposite effect on people who are there to cause trouble – attracting exactly the wrong kind of crowd.

“The decision to cancel Halloween has already been made,” said Police Commission President Theresa Sparks, “and that’s not why we’re here tonight. We are here to find out what the plans and preparations are.” The Mayor’s Office, the Police Department, the Fire Department, Muni and other agencies were all on hand to say they had detailed plans that had been worked on for several months – all the while ignoring the fact that they’ve left the neighborhood out of the planning process.

David Perry of the Convention Visitor’s Bureau announced a $40,000 city-funded public relations campaign that will tell people “the Castro is not where it’s happening.” With the theme “Home for Halloween,” the campaign has launched a website informing people about other events in the Bay Area, along with posters that implore people not to come. They will even run TV commercials – with pictures of scary ghosts to drive people away.

Whether or not that will be effective is still an open question. “I wouldn’t be in this if I didn’t think this would work,” said Perry. But former District 8 candidate Alix Rosenthal said during public comment that urging people not to come is not the smartest way to keep troublemakers out. “I have two teenage step-daughters,” said Rosenthal, “and when you tell them not to do something – they do the opposite.” If the desire is to keep out rowdy kids who cause problems, the P.R. campaign could have an opposite effect.

One of the most insightful comments during public comment came from a Castro resident who stumbled into the hearing while doing other business at City Hall. “When I first saw the flyers that said ‘Home for Halloween,’” she said, “I thought you were inviting gay people to the Castro for Halloween – since many gay people think of the Castro as ‘home.’ If you’re trying to keep people away from the Castro, you need a better slogan.”

But assuming people do come, the Police assured the Commission they will be prepared to monitor the situation. “We’ve cancelled days off,” said Deputy Police Chief David Shinn, “and we’ve moved around which officers are on duty to ensure the most cops available.” There will be officers patrolling 16th Street to monitor who leaves the BART station and is walking up towards the Castro district. “We have written to all our juvenile probationers to stay out of the Castro,” said Deputy Chief Probation Officer Allan Nance.

But when Shinn started using words like “aggressive enforcement,” the Commissioners got nervous – as Theresa Sparks said that sounds “like Tiananmen Square.” Shinn then had to backtrack and say that “no tolerance” was a more appropriate term. “We want to facilitate the flow of traffic,” he said. “It’s actions, not people, we’re worried about. We’ll be looking for people who come to the Castro looking for trouble.”

And who are the people looking for trouble? “How do you stop people from coming in without declaring martial law,” asked Commissioner Joe Alioto-Veronese, who inquired about the typical civilian who innocently goes to the Castro for dinner. Police Chief Heather Fong replied there’s a legal difference between going out for a drink indoors, and taking your drink out on the street. “If people appear drunk,” she said, “it will be appropriate to stop them.”

Commissioner David Campos raised concerns that stopping people who look like they’re out for trouble could lead to racial profiling. “I want to make sure that people are not being targeted because of their ethnicity,” he said. Supervisor Bevan Dufty replied the “flip side” to that concern is Castro residents who have put up with gay-bashing over the years. “I hope police would target strictly behavior,” said Commissioner Joe Marshall.

There will be no parking allowed on Market and Castro streets, said the police. Muni will have fare inspectors on the buses, and the Church and Castro subway stations will close at 8:30 p.m. The Highway Patrol will be doing alcohol checks for motorists who drive into the neighborhood. The Taxi Commission will instruct drivers to encourage their passengers not to go to the Castro, and to not pick people up there. And twenty local businesses have agreed to close.

That’s what we know for sure – other details are still unknown. There won’t be street closures, said the Police, but they might have to if too many people show up. While there will be the capacity to create emergency access lanes if necessary, said Dufty, “we don’t want to send the message that there’s a party.” And then there’s the business of portable toilets – Public Works denied resident Michael Staley’s request for one in front of his house, while the neighborhood is terrified of public urination and defecation.

Commissioner Sparks injected a healthy does of skepticism regarding street closures. “From what I can tell,” she said, “we’re not shutting down the Castro. We’re shutting down the party.” People can still walk into the Castro, and for an event that involves a lot of “people-watching,” it’s hard to see how you can stop people from congregating. “It’s not like Halloween is a party that the City sells tickets to,” said Alix Rosenthal.

Will patrolling the neighborhood with cops who are out to stop people who cause trouble really deter a large crowd? “Last year,” said Castro resident Dennis Johns, “there were more cops and the whole environment was intimidating – it didn’t stop 100,000 people from coming.” Michael Cohen, who lives at 16th and Market, said he’s organizing the neighbors in his building – and they will take turns literally guarding the front steps.

The City cancelled “Halloween in the Castro” after nine people were shot last year, and a general consensus in the community is that the event has gotten out of hand. Eleven months later, there has been little neighborhood input on how to prepare for the supposed “non-event,” plans to bring a larger police presence on the streets, and a P.R. campaign that does not sound effective at keeping the troublemakers out of the neighborhood.

Everyone wants a safe Halloween this year, and the City says that no news will be good news. But with weak leadership and secretive planning, there’s a palpable fear about what could occur. “Based on what I’ve heard tonight,” said Michael Petrelis, “I feel like going to the Castro this year. I’ll be in my ‘Curious George’ costume.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: In 2006, Paul Hogarth endorsed Alix Rosenthal for District 8 Supervisor against Bevan Dufty, donated $200 to her campaign, and briefly served on her campaign committee. Send feedback to paul@beyondchron.org