City officials confirmed this week that they are pursuing plans to move the annual Halloween celebration out of the Castro to several piers along the waterfront.

Mayor Gavin Newsom and District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty issued a two-sentence statement Tuesday, April 17 that said they have asked Port officials to examine relocating the Halloween celebration out of the city's gay neighborhood.

The announcement came six days after a Bay Area Reporter article disclosed that despite a lack of public meetings about this year's event, city officials had met behind closed doors to discuss relocating Halloween.

"On April 9, the mayor and Supervisor Dufty convened key city departments, including public safety agencies, the Port of San Francisco and the Entertainment Commission to discuss options for the city to pursue regarding this coming Halloween. Following a discussion of options, the mayor and Supervisor Dufty asked the port director to explore the feasibility of having a no-alcohol entertainment event at Piers 30-32 for Wednesday, October 31, 2007," read the statement.

In recent years the annual Halloween street party has been marred by violence, including a shootout last year that left 10 attendees injured and the stabbing of five people at the 2002 event. Fed up by the violence, gay bashings, and drunken crowds associated with Halloween, Castro residents and merchants have clamored to see the city take control of the event.

Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard told the B.A.R. that the port plan does not preclude other options for this year's event from being explored.

"The mayor is interested in all options for making Halloween safer. Last year the violence was unacceptable," he said. "The mayor is committed to finding solutions for the problems that plagued the event last year. All options are still on the table. They are looking at this option as one that might make sense."

Port spokeswoman Renee Dunn did not return the B.A.R. 's calls seeking comment. According to an official at the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the port has an existing permit for special events that allows temporary uses throughout the waterfront.

"Port staff works closely with BCDC staff to ensure the events don't adversely impact public access to and along the shoreline," said Brad McCrae, a bay design analyst with the commission. "It would be handled administratively."

As for having a public meeting about Halloween, Ballard said nothing is scheduled as of yet.

"The community certainly will be involved as we move forward," he said. "There is nothing on the calendar but certainly there will be ample opportunity for community discussions when it comes to the discussions of this year's Halloween."

The issue of what to do about Halloween has dogged Dufty since he first ran for election in 2002. After being sworn in to his seat the following year, Dufty worked with the community to try to rein in the free-for-all and largely unsanctioned street party. The city banned alcohol and set up gates to collect donations, allowed several stages with music, and held costume contests broadcast live on local television.

The changes did not seem to tamper down problems at the event, and increasingly more and more LGBT revelers opted to avoid the Castro that night. Last summer Dufty suggested the city cancel Halloween altogether, and his opponent in his re-election race, Oakland Deputy City Attorney Alix Rosenthal, used the issue to criticize his leadership.

Ultimately, the city opted to hold the event in the Castro but imposed a ban on alcohol, allowed only one stage of entertainment, and enacted an 11 p.m. curfew. The shooting took place around 10:40 p.m. on Market Street as police were attempting to clear out the area. The ensuing mayhem made national news.

Entertainment Commissioner Audrey Joseph has been spearheading the effort to relocate this year's event out of the Castro. Reached in New York City Tuesday, she said the plan is to have an outdoor concert at the piers with a big-named act, such as Prince or the Black-Eyed Peas, to draw people away from the Castro. In addition, she said the city would not close down the streets in the Castro.

"It doesn't mean there won't be people coming to the Castro. It just means we are trying to do a much larger event in another place to seduce people to go to another location," said Joseph. "It is not going to be easy to draw someone in late October to an outdoor event like that."

Joseph stressed that the city is only in the preliminary stages and nothing has been finalized about this year's Halloween.

"The truth of the matter is we are only in talks. It is not done yet," said Joseph, who plans to meet with port officials in early May. "There are lots of permit reviews we have to go through, including ones with the Port Commission."

Anthony Imperial, director of Next Arts, which produces outdoor concerts, said his organization has been suggesting moving Halloween to the piers for at least the last two years but has gotten nowhere with city officials. According to e-mails Imperial sent to city officials, copies of which he provided to the B.A.R., Next Arts proposed on November 3 last year – one day after Dufty and Newsom had announced they would convene a task force to plan Halloween – that the event be moved to the waterfront.

"We will pick up on our previous proposal and go with a Haunted House theme. It will have ghosts and goblins, a pumpkin patch and graveyard. We'll have a Ferris wheel and some other rides and attractions," wrote Imperial in an e-mail to the mayor, Dufty and their aides. "But I tell ya one thing, we won't have any violence."

Imperial suggests in the e-mail to open the "Haunted House Halloween 2007" attraction several days prior to the holiday, which falls on a Wednesday this year, for all ages and then have it be 18 and older on October 31. He also stated an admission of $20 would be charged.

In an interview this week, Imperial said he believed moving Halloween out of the Castro could work and hoped city officials would be more receptive to his group's plans.

"I would like to see us get involved more with the implementation of the ideas we have brought forward because I think our organization is the only organization that can implement it properly," he said.

Joseph said she had never been shown Imperial's e-mails, adding she welcomes suggestions from anyone with ideas for this year's Halloween.

"We are going to be talking to lots of people," she said.