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Niagara Falls business owners cited for work on 'Operation Safecam'

Fri, Nov 22nd 2019 04:15 pm

Niagara Falls business owners Linda and Mark Milanovich of George’s Appliance Inc., and Ghandi Jourdi and Master Khechen of Master Khechen’s Martial Arts Academy were recognized earlier this month for their contributions towards development of a security camera network intended to protect Pine Avenue business and customers in Niagara Falls.

Presented by the Pine Avenue Redevelopment Project, Life NF and the Aquarium of Niagara, the business owners were cited at a Niagara Falls City Market gathering for their partnering with the City of Niagara Falls Police Department through its “Operation Safecam” initiative.

“We’re here today to hand out two lifetime membership awards,” announced Tony Poletti, president of the Pine Avenue Redevelopment Project and owner of the Marketside Restaurant.

In announcing Ghandi Jourdi and Master Khechen, Poletti stated that, “They supported our group from the beginning, both monetarily and emotionally. We cooperated with the police to put a security camera on their building; we agreed to have security for the benefit of the entire City Market and they’re absorbing the cost.

“They have been nothing but supportive. They’re great neighbors.”

As he announced Linda and Mark Milanovich of George’s Appliance Inc., Poletti stated, “They’ve also been there from the very beginning, supporting us in every way they can. They come to all our events, they support us, and now they support a network of cameras and our park at Fifth and Pine. By use of their Wi-Fi, we’re able to run the cameras and protect our park.”

Lisa Tucker French, co-founder and executive director of Field & Fork Network and co-chair for the NF Local Food Action Plan and Healthy Food Healthy People work group, discussed creation of the Food Action Plan.

“It was officially adopted by the City Council in December of 2018, and is the official plan for food development and the City of Niagara Falls,” Tucker said. “One of the main priorities is to bring the City Market back to what it used to be years ago. We’re partnering with developers of the Pine Avenue Redevelopment Project as well as vendors here at the market to really return the market back to being a vital community asset, and one that serves the community as a whole.”

Among the initiatives she discussed are to bring federal food assistance to the market, creating more promotional activities to increase awareness and the number of vendors, and “really turning the City Market space to a robust community event space.”

She joined with Poletti; Christine Streich, director of communications with the Aquarium of Niagara; and Live NF in offering their congratulations to the two Pine Avenue business owners.

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