The New Year’s Eve party at the Cunard Centre last year was a fiasco: attendees complained of people not getting patted down at the door (or at least not properly, which caused fears that weapons could have been brought in easily), 20 minute-long drink lines and a coat check that got so out of hand people stormed the area, stole coats and left hundreds of attendees to face a blizzard with no outerwear.

But East Coast Dynamics, that event’s organizer, is planning another New Year’s Eve bash this year at the Halifax Forum’s Multi-Purpose Room.

“I wasn’t in change of hiring, I was limited to what I could do,” says ECD owner Brad Steeves of the Cunard Centre event, adding that at the Forum, all bartenders, security and coat check staff will be under ECD’s responsibility. “[We’ll be] looking after ourselves as opposed to having things looked after for us.” (The Cunard Centre declined to comment for this story.)

This year’s event will admit just 1,800 people, about half of the over 3,500 who showed up last year. Further, Steeves says he’ll avoid last year’s problems by having a free coat check that won’t be mandatory, and by having a large bar in the centre of the room, with beer tubs at various locations, to shorten lines.

Steeves says he has organized “20 to 25″ successful events since last year.