Lan Kwai Fong waits for memories to fade

IT was quiet in Lan Kwai Fong the other night. Very quiet. One or two bars had their shutters down, others had attracted a mere handful of punters. And it was cold. One month after the New Year's Eve tragedy which claimed the lives of 21 people - victims of a crush on the overcrowded streets - Hongkong is still coming to terms with that most shocking start to a year. Reports have been commissioned and published, steps taken to ensure there is no repeat of the tragedy, and all efforts made to get on with life. But up in the neon-lit alleys and smoked glass retreats of Lan Kwai Fong, New Year's Eve lingers on for the owners of the 42 restaurants, bars, discos and lounges which make up this high profile rectangle of real estate. It persists in empty cash tills and in the stigma which surrounds the idea of revelling where so many suffered. Recent press reports on underage drinking and unlicensed premises have dealt a further blow to several popular Lan Kwai Fong clubs. Then there was this week's resignation from the Lan Kwai Fong Tenants' Association of chairman Calvin Craig and the leaked accounts of rows between him and association vice-chairman Barry Kalb. Many drew the conclusion that the strife was caused by the New Year's Eve tragedy. The spotlight is well and truly on Lan Kwai Fong and it is tempting to conclude the place is wilting beneath it. That midweek stroll through sparsely populated streets adds to the temptation to paint it as a place in turmoil and decline. But step into one of those venues, and talk to an owner, and a different message comes across. ''Business definitely is down - no question about it,'' admitted Karen Joffe, manager of the California restaurant and bar. ''But after the first couple of weeks after New Year the mood started lifting slightly. I think it should be gradual. I think it is appropriate.'' Added Tony Souza, who runs Al's Diner, and is spokesperson for the association: ''January and Chinese New Year are always difficult times - this is a historical fact - but this year it has been exceptionally slow and I think there is no question that theNew Year's Eve accident certainly has caused business in Lan Kwai Fong to slow for some period of time. ''Now I think it would be a brave man to quantify when exactly business would return,'' continued Mr Souza. ''But we were noticing just this past weekend some of the regulars beginning to come back and we would hope this trend would continue as the Chinese New Year period winds down.'' Another bar owner put it more bluntly. ''Sure, a few are going to suffer, but I don't think any of us are going to go out of business.'' Without having any choice in the matter, the club owners are having to face up to hard times even thought the tragedy was the result of a series of circumstances beyond their control. The ''why me'' syndrome is barely in evidence. ''In certain respects, life is unfair,'' shrugged Mr Souza. ''The accident happened in Lan Kwai Fong and it is quite natural that the area is tainted with the same brush.'' ''I don't see this [staying-away] as something that is being deliberately done against Lan Kwai Fong,'' said Ms Joffe. ''When 21 people are killed in an area, that is not an area you want to go back to and party. When people die in a football stadium in England, I shouldn't imagine you would go back to see a game in that stadium for a while. ''It is frustrating but [the tragedy] was of such magnitude that there is no way I can say 'I can't understand why people aren't coming here'. ''What is frustrating is that I don't like people in the streets and I haven't done for some time.'' Ms Joffe said she and her establishment were among a number of members of the 37-strong association who had been pushing for more than a year to curtail outdoor festivals in favour of those which would bring customers into bars. She and others were quick to point out that public gatherings like that on New Year's Eve are different from festivals organised by the association. ''I think the association has stated, and I think quite correctly, that one has to separate these events from say the New Year's Eve, Christmas Eve and Hallowe'en which are generally not organised by the Lan Kwai Fong Association,'' said Mr Souza. ''The street carnival, for example, happens over two days, generally during the day and we host it in conjunction with the Tourist Association's food festival. It allows people the chance to wander through Lan Kwai Fong and taste different food, which isone of the things people often forget about Lan Kwai Fong.'' Mr Souza confirmed that the association intends to go ahead with this year's street carnival, pending licences being granted. Not all feel that way, however, and it has been suggested that the issue of the association's commitment to staging large-scale events may have led to the public airing of dirty linen in the Calvin Craig-Barry Kalb dispute. Again, however, club owners have been quick to close ranks and reject any tasteless suggestions that Mr Craig has become ''another casualty'' in Lan Kwai Fong. ''The strife within the association has nothing to do with people being killed on New Year's Eve,'' said Ms Joffe. Mr Kalb, who owns the Il Mercato Restaurant, approached the South China Morning Post with a statement. ''Firstly, this long predated what happened on New Year's Eve,'' he said. ''It came after a long, complicated series of conversations and correspondence. Secondly, this is by no means a power struggle between me and Calvin. I have no intention of running for chairman.'' Scotties' owner Mr Craig has indeed submitted his resignation and the association's executive committee (Mr Kalb excluded) will take over its running until March when annual elections are held. However, this week also brought speculation that Nichole Garnaut, high profile co-partner in 97 Group, is considering withdrawing her three venues from the association. Another blow to Lan Kwai Fong's image. ''I think one would be hard put to find an association or gathering anywhere where there is not an honest difference of opinion,'' countered Mr Souza. ''I think even last year there was a growing feeling among some of the members that we may have too many events and that some of the events should or should not be sponsored events. ''For example, we decided last year, and correctly I think, we would do nothing with Hallowe'en because we had seen the frightening crowds the year before and said anything we do to encourage people to come down would only exacerbate the situation.'' Mr Souza said the association's immediate priority lay with awaiting the final Bokhary Report to see how it can mesh its own plans on safety with those contained in it. It is also planning to continue its work in promoting the district as a whole and helping individual members with licensing agreements. For the time being, Mr Souza and his associates look for positive signs. They say the number of teenagers on the streets of Lan Kwai Fong has dropped dramatically. They point out that those non-expatriates who frequented bars are still doing so, and theyspeak with differing degrees of confidence of an upswing in business. ''Before this happened business was great,'' said Ms Joffe. ''Unlike some times in my six years with the restaurant and Lan Kwai Fong, people liked Lan Kwai Fong and liked coming here. I'm optimistic. I'm not always an optimistic person but I am optimistic about this.'' Concluded Mr Souza: ''I don't think we're going to rush out and put up big signs and say 'come back'. I think the general feeling is that the establishments are generally happy to see this period through. We have seen some encouraging signs and I think over the next month or two we will see business return.''