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“There’s a certain amount of danger that can be alluring,” said Newton, who has performed under his stage name, Conan Neutron, at underground shows in Oakland for nearly two decades. But at times, he admitted, “you looked around and thought, ‘Hey, this can’t possibly be safe.’”

In the aftermath of the deadly Ghost Ship fire, promoters of such events have gone deep underground, hoping to avoid drawing authorities’ attention. And as Oakland faces the biggest party night of the year, city leaders are keeping mum about what they might do to keep celebrators from packing into unregulated and possibly unsafe warehouses.

Mayor Libby Schaaf has avoided publicly condemning such events, insisting at news conferences that her administration is prepared to work with warehouse artists rather than penalize them.

It was a music show that drew revelers Dec. 2 to the Ghost Ship warehouse, which had never undergone a fire inspection while people were living, working and staging entertainment events there. The show’s promoter did not obtain a city permit for the event, where 36 people died when flames prevented them from reaching either of the building’s two exits.

Since the fire, warehouse artists who have typically hosted large, non-permitted celebrations have pulled the plug — at least on social media — on the underground party scene. Gone are the Facebook event pages and show promotions that were often featured on public websites and online mailing lists.

“Either they’re not happening, or they’ve gone way deeper underground,” said longtime arts scene player Matt Hummel, who chairs the city’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission. He said some members of the warehouse community are talking via encrypted software to protect their privacy amid what many artists see as a crackdown on their live-work spaces.

To some, Oakland’s artist warehouses are dangerous labyrinths of slapdash construction and faulty electrical wiring that were always ripe for disaster. To others, they are bright incubators for outré music, Burning Man art cars, and DIY metalwork and mind-bending installation pieces. And, occasionally, they provide space for raucous parties.

Photo: Amy Osborne, Special To The Chronicle

Conan Newton, who performs under the name Conan Neutron, moves his gear into his band’s practice space in a warehouse in West Oakland.

Conan Newton, who performs under the name Conan Neutron, moves his...

City officials have long been aware of the underground arts and party scene, even celebrating the culture to attract tourism. Schaaf has been careful in her public remarks when talking about the establishments.

“We will learn from this tragedy to make Oakland safer,” the mayor said at a Dec. 7 news conference after the Ghost Ship fire. “We will do so with the intent to lift up Oakland’s incredible creative community. We will not let our emotions lead to hasty decisions or witch hunts.”

Asked what actions the city might take to discourage non-permitted public events on New Year’s Eve, the mayor’s spokeswoman, Erica Terry Derryck, sent a statement from Assistant City Administrator Claudia Cappio.

“As a city, we employ a number of diverse tactics to address the increased potential for unsafe and illegal activity on New Year’s Eve, including unpermitted events,” Cappio said. “With the tragedy of the 31st Avenue fire (on) top of mind for all of us this holiday season, we remain prepared to address the range of heavy activity that normally occurs at this time of year.”

Derryck declined to elaborate on the city’s tactics, saying police and fire departments generally do not reveal their public safety and enforcement strategies — “in large part to help maintain the effectiveness.”

City Councilman Noel Gallo said Oakland needs to take a tougher approach, telling artists to obtain permits for events — or stop holding the events, period.

“We need to make a strong statement that if you want to hold a warehouse event, you have to seek a permit,” said Gallo, who represents the Fruitvale district and lives a block from where the Ghost Ship fire took place on 31st Avenue near International Boulevard. “We will have firefighters available (on New Year’s), but they can’t get to every location at all times.”

A firefighter who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media said the department’s perennial staff shortages have hindered it during “high-risk” days, such as New Year’s Eve.

“I would like to see us staffing up for this, rather than just pulling firefighters from our front lines who should be protecting neighborhoods,” said the firefighter.

Deputy Fire Chief Darin White said the department does not consider New Year’s Eve a “special event” on par with the Fourth of July or a large celebration such as a sports team’s championship parade.

“Will we see an increase in incidents (on New Year’s Eve)? It’s possible,” White said. Nonetheless, he said, the Fire Department plans to deploy the same number of staffers on New Year’s Eve as on any other night of the year: 24 fire engines and seven rescue trucks, with at least four people on each.

Artists, meanwhile, say the city’s complex event permitting process has in effect kept them underground, creating the conditions for illicit parties like the one at the Ghost Ship.

“There are tons of barriers that prevent most places from ever getting permitted, but you only find that out once you try to do it,” said David Keenan, co-founder of the North Oakland artists collective Omni Commons.

Among those barriers, Keenan said, are the Police Department’s requirement that organizers buy event insurance, which is often unobtainable for hip-hop or punk shows, or comes at a hefty $1,500 price tag. The department also requires organizers to hire one security guard for every 50 attendees, and will usually “strongly suggest” that off-duty police officers be given the jobs, Keenan said.

A statement issued by the Police Department permit unit said hiring off-duty officers to patrol such events is a “reasonable security measure,” albeit one that the police “seldom impose.”

“No recent permits have come to our office that we determined possibly needing police resources,” the statement said.

On top of the insurance and security restrictions, there’s an old Oakland law that prohibits dancing between 1 a.m. and 9 a.m. — which is printed on one of the special event permit forms.

City Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan is advocating for changes to the permitting process, saying it is too onerous and should not be run by the Police Department.

While council members say more needs to be done, Schaaf is trying to perform the delicate political balancing act of expressing sympathy for the artists and promising to beef up public safety — without providing specifics on what those actions will be.

For their part, those who have long enjoyed Oakland’s warehouse scene are looking toward a quieter future.

“We cannot advertise, we can’t invite the wider public,” said Jonah Strauss, a sound engineer and founder of the Oakland Warehouse Coalition, a group that is pushing for stronger tenant protections in illegal live-work spaces.

“The way this affects New Year’s Eve is this would be a time for us to come together and engage in revelry,” Strauss added. “But we can’t do it.”