NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — Niagara Falls officials are partnering with the Niagara Falls Boys & Girls Club to create a "Night Gym Program" aimed at giving 16 to 18-year-olds a safe, yet fun, place to go at night.
"When you start taking a look at the programs that we have, there's really nothing that specifically targets that age group," Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino said.
The Boys and Girls Club on 17th Street currently offers services including a tech lab, a music center, a basketball court and much more. All of those services could be extended for late-night hours for 16 to 18-year-olds.
WATCH: 'We really care': Niagara Falls proposes new late-night gym for teens
"We will at least be able to keep doors open until 10-10:30 and explore weekend hours," CEO of the Niagara Falls Boys & Girls Club Rebecca Vincheski said. "Everything is a good thing for kids when they can be somewhere safe and positive."
"We really care about them. We want them to have a positive place to come," Restaino said. "I'd like to think we will have a full complement of people enjoying sports in here, as well as whatever other programming can be made available by the Boys & Girls Club."
The city has not yet approved funding for the partnership, but the plan is to trial the late-night program for about a year.
The start date depends on when the city can secure that funding for the extra programming.
"If we can find resources this calendar year, we'd love to be able to get it started as soon as possible," Restaino said. "If that's not possible, we begin budget discussions [for 2027] in early summer. We'll start programming this. The latest it could start is 2027."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
