Hoping for a not-too-scary night

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- Harbor View residents still horrified by Halloweens

of 1999 and before are reenacting last year’s efforts to avert problems

in their popular trick-or-treat location.

“My biggest concern is getting through Halloween night,” Jill Money,

board member of the Harbor View Homeowners Assn. said. “Last year, the

police did an outstanding job. But before that, we had terrible

vandalism, weapons -- it’s been awful.”

The Harbor View area -- known best as the port streets bordered by

MacArthur Boulevard, San Joaquin Hills and Old Ford roads and San Miguel

Drive -- is unusually prone to trouble, said Newport Beach Police

spokesman Sgt. Steve Shulman.

The homes, which are close together on easily navigable, flat streets,

attract trick-or-treaters from outside the area. Among them, some high

school students tend to bring along things such as shaving cream, water

balloons and eggs to pelt at people and cars.

In 1999, one boy was taken in on weapons charges for having a pellet

gun or similar toy weapon in his possession, Shulman said.

Like last year, increased police patrols in cars and on bicycles are

part of the plan to reduce crime and mischief. Added outdoor lighting

will also be back this year to discourage kids from clustering under

cover of darkness along the green way, a public field at least 100 yards

long that stretches between Andersen Elementary School and a public pool.

Shulman said that when the area is lighted, kids congregate there for

fun instead of mischief.

“Four or five years ago, it was so bad that on Halloween you had to

show ID that you lived there in order to get in,” said Councilman John

Heffernan, who lives in and represents the area. “It’s pretty calm there

now.”

Other neighborhoods in the city also attract trick-or-treaters from

outside their areas. But Harbor View is alone in its Halloween crime

problem, due in part to the large numbers of high school students who

come there, Shulman said.

Balboa Island’s close-knit houses and high incomes tend to draw

outsiders angling for the most efficient way to procure lots of the best

candy. Some of the city’s best-decorated homes also create a draw.

“I’m convinced that Balboa Island is the ultimate destination in the

United States for Halloween,” Councilman Steve Bromberg said. “At my

house, we get about 200 kids. Along the Bayfront streets, if they don’t

get 500 to 1,000 kids, I’d be surprised.”

But the Balboa Island community isn’t as conducive to crime, in part

because the close-knit neighborhood gives residents a good view of

everything going on in the streets.

“I’ve never seen or heard of a problem related to trick-or-treaters

here,” Bromberg said. “I’ve never even seen a house get

[toilet-papered].”

Harbor View homeowners aspire to rival the island’s safe reputation.

Last year, there wasn’t a single call for police service and only two

arrests -- both for alcohol.