Local members of the state delegation will be hosting a tourism forum in Niagara Falls Monday. The lawmakers want to hear what ideas residents and business owners have for improving the Niagara County economy.Members of the state Assembly's Minority Economic Development, Education and Infrastructure Task Force, including Jane Corwin of Clarence, David DiPietro of East Aurora and Lewiston's John Ceretto, are taking part in the forum.
"We're asking anybody...that would like to participate, please come down. And then we've invited some of the experts in the field, in this area to participate. And with that information, we're going to gather it, take it back to Albany, and I'm going to try to do the best that I can to represent the people in my area to bring jobs to this area," he added.
Ceretto says the goal is to create new jobs by drawing more visitors to the Falls. He says the recently announced Mark Hamister hotel project is a piece of the puzzle.
"I also see the recent expansion of the aquarium that was announced, that's going to help the aquarium get bigger and better, and then the recent pact with the Seneca Indian Nation for the $89 million that came to the City of Niagara Falls. So there's a lot of things that are going on in this area as far as tourism. We just have to keep the momentum and that's what I'm trying to do, just keep it going," Ceretto said.
The forum runs from 10 a.m. until noon in the Niagara Falls Public Library.