No Halloween street party this time in San Francisco's Castro District.

City officials encouraged residents, revelers, and tourists, on radio and television, to stay at home or party somewhere else.

A public relations consultant for the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau, David Perry, said, "A lot of people say to me this sounds like a tough-love message. I have no problem with that. If there's something I can do to keep my community safe, I'll do it."

Supervisor Bevan Dufty, whose district includes the Castro, was able to convince 17 restaurants, bars and stores to close early on Halloween.

He said, "This is really a public safety decision. I'm disappointed my message is one of, 'Please don't come.'"

The San Francisco Halloween street party in Castro is a decades old celebration for the city gay and lesbian community. However, it has drawn violence in recent years - five people were stabbed in 2002, someone brandished a chainsaw through the crowd in 2004, and nine revelers were shot in 2006.

A spokesman for Mayor Gavin, Nathan Ballard said, "People should come to the Castro only if interacting with police is their idea of a good time."

He said, "The residents of the Castro are fed up with having a large, regional party in the Castro, and frankly anyone who thinks it's a good idea to have a large, regional event in the Castro on a weeknight needs to have their head examined."