ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A local business owner is launching a community effort to promote peace and safety at Charlotte Beach following recent violence.
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Michael Tandoi said he and a group of civilians will begin walking through the park this week, offering free handshakes and hot dogs to visitors.
The initiative, called “Unity for Peace,” aims to create a welcoming environment for families.
“Charlotte Beach is not a place for fights,” Tandoi said. “It’s a place for families and loved ones and kids and aunts and uncles and brothers and sisters.”
Tandoi said he wants the community to know Charlotte Beach will be a safe place. He said anyone looking to fight should stay away from the park. “If you want to fight, go to your own house, go to your own neighborhood, do your fighting at your own house in your own neighborhood,” Tandoi said.
“We don’t want it in Charlotte. We’re not going to tolerate it.” Tandoi said he has been a boater his entire life and spent time at Charlotte Beach as a teenager. He said his generation enjoyed the park without violence.
“We used to bring our cars down there and we used to play our sound systems all day,” Tandoi said. “We never really got in trouble. The worst thing we ever did was like peel off our tires.”
Tandoi said his daughter Gianna and her friends joined the effort to show that young people want to enjoy local parks safely. He said the youth deserve to grow up in a safe community. “We want them to be safe,” Tandoi said.
“We want these kids to be loved. We want them to be able to enjoy beautiful things.” Tandoi said he and the community members involved in the initiative support local law enforcement, including Rochester Police, Monroe County sheriffs and state troopers.
He encouraged police to keep an eye on the group as they work in the park this week. “We got their back, have our back,” Tandoi said. “We’re standing together.”
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