Castro Community Braces for Halloween

Now Castro residents fear that partiers looking for trouble will still show up anyway.

A September 22nd town meeting at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center hoped to answer questions on what the City has planned – but Newsom, Dufty and the Police Department did not show up, leaving the Fire Department and the Sheriff’s Office to field questions not in their jurisdiction. And while most Castro residents say they don’t want Halloween in their neighborhood, at least give the group “Citizens for Halloween” credit for demanding some type of pro-active planning.

Nine people were shot at last year’s “Halloween in the Castro” – a tragedy that many say was the final straw for an event gone out of hand. But advocates say that this was due to inadequate community involvement to make it a successful event. “From 2003 to 2005,” said activist Donna Sachet, “there was more community input – with emergency lanes, police protection and gates manned by volunteers.” Taking the event out of neighborhood hands, she argued, was a recipe for disaster.

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