The annual Carlotta Street block party efforts have been thwarted before, but legal steps have been taken this year to secure the event. The Northgate Merchants Association has acquired a permit which will allow the party to legally take place Oct. 31. The permit will allow street closures and security from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday. Street closures will be in effect from Chimes to Carlotta streets with limited access to Ivanhoe Street.The Baton Rouge Police Department approached the association and asked for help making the party “legitimate.””They said they want the party to continue, but it needs to be done in a legal manner,” said Jared Loftus, president of the Northgate Merchants Association. “Carlotta is a loose set of individuals. There’s no one they can count on to make this process happen.”Loftus said after last year’s events, the police got a “bad rap.””They came to us and wanted the party to happen,” Loftus said. “They’ve worked with us and helped us out.”At last year’s Halloween party, police on horses and foot attempted to keep the crowd off the street because of the lack of street closures. At the night’s end, no party goers were allowed access to Carlotta and Chimes streets, and a man was tasered. The permit cost $1,500 and includes an insurance policy, police presence and street closures. The members of the Northgate Merchants Association paid the fee out of their own pockets.”It’s our neighborhood. We want to see it happen,” Loftus said. “Why wouldn’t we get involved? If we don’t, they would try to have it anyway. It wouldn’t be pretty.”The association will provide a beer truck and portable toilets.”The Northgate Merchants Association is not a money machine. We’re paying out of individual pockets,” Loftus said. “In order for us to get that money back, we needed a beer truck.”Loftus said alcohol sales will cease at a certain time because of city laws. “[The residents] wanted us to make our money back,” Loftus said. “And it gives the party more legitimacy.”The celebration will include bands and DJs on stages set up in residents’ front yards. When the BRPD suggested the Northgate Merchants Association aid the legalization of the party, the merchants held a town hall style meeting at The Varsity Theatre for the residents of Carlotta Street.”It was an overwhelming response. They were happy for us to be involved,” Loftus said. Loftus said the residents were concerned about police involvement and security. Sgt. Don Kelly, BRPD spokesman, said police supervision will be present.”Now they don’t have to worry about the police busting the party up,” Loftus said. “And they can feel safer.”The Northgate merchants have had their hands full with the Carlotta Street party permit and the Northgate Festival, which is two weeks after Halloween. But they haven’t been the only ones at work. “The residents have been working hard to organize it, too,” Loftus said.Loftus said party goers don’t have to worry about a “corporate takeover” because the merchants were only a catalyst to the party.”We wouldn’t have gotten involved if the residents didn’t want us to,” Loftus said. “We’re just helping to facilitate it.”—-Contact Ashley Norsworthy at [email protected]