Niagara Falls Night Gym Push Sparks Divide Between Mayor, Council

     A proposed late-night recreation program for Niagara Falls teens is now at the center of a growing divide between the mayor’s office and the City Council, raising questions about coordination inside City Hall as two separate efforts move forward without alignment.

     City officials recently announced a partnership with the Niagara Falls Boys & Girls Club to launch a “Night Gym” pilot program aimed at providing a safe, structured environment for teens ages 16 to 18 during evening hours. The concept centers on extending hours at the Boys & Girls Club facility on 17th Street, where participants would have access to athletics, fitness programming, technology resources, and other supervised activities.

     Restaino has framed the program as a response to a gap in youth services, particularly for older teenagers who are often too old for traditional after-school programs but still benefit from supervised environments.

     The plan calls for keeping the facility open until approximately 10 or 10:30pm with the possibility of adding weekend hours depending on demand and available staffing. Officials say the extended hours would allow teens to participate in sports and other activities in a controlled, safe setting.

     Despite the outlined concept, several key elements remain unresolved. Most importantly among them, funding and a definitive launch timeline.

     The city has not yet approved funding for the program, which is a necessary step before it can move forward. Without that funding in place, there is no confirmed start date for the initiative.

     Restaino indicated that if resources can be secured this year, the program could begin sooner. However, if funding is not identified in the near term, the project may be pushed into the next budget cycle, which would delay implementation until 2027.

     But while the mayor’s administration is advancing that partnership, City Council members have been pursuing a separate plan to revive a school-based Night Gym program and say they were not included in the mayor’s discussions.

     In February, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for a coordinated effort to bring back Night Gyms through the Niagara Falls School District. That plan outlined a multi-agency approach involving school leadership, city administrators, police department, and the city’s legal team. It also directed officials to convene a stakeholder meeting and report back to the council within 60 days on potential program structure, funding sources, and logistics.

     Council members envisioned a broader rollout that would use multiple school locations to improve access for youth across different neighborhoods. Initial discussions centered on three North End school sites before language in the resolution was adjusted to give the school district flexibility in selecting locations.

     Council Member Bridgette Myles, who has led the council’s push on the issue, had already been in discussions with school officials, city leadership, and law enforcement representatives to move the plan forward. However, she indicated that the requested joint planning meeting has not taken place, leaving the council without the formal coordination it sought.

     The mayor’s separate announcement with the Boys & Girls Club came as a shock, creating what Myles viewed as a disconnect between the two efforts.

     Myles had previously been told the city could not provide support for the council’s proposed program, prompting her to explore alternative funding sources and partnerships.

She also worked with local officials connected to the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative. However, those discussions suggested that available resources might only support a smaller-scale pilot at a single location.

     That approach raised concerns for Myles who emphasized the importance of accessibility across the city. Limiting the program to one site, in her view, would reduce its reach and undermine the original goal of making the program available to a broader group of teens.

     She has continued to advocate for multiple locations, arguing that school-based programs would provide easier access for students in different parts of Niagara Falls. As part of those efforts, she also communicated those concerns directly to Boys & Girls Club leadership after learning about the mayor’s plan.

     Despite the shared goal of expanding opportunities for young people, the lack of coordination between the two approaches has become a central issue.

     The council’s resolution required city administrators to provide an update within 60 days, and Myles has indicated she is still waiting for that report as the administration moves forward with a separate plan.

     At the same time, the mayor’s office has indicated that its discussions with the Boys & Girls Club began earlier in the year and were developed independently of the council’s efforts.

     The result is two parallel strategies aimed at addressing the same issue but without a unified plan or clear collaboration between the two branches of city government.

     Complicating matters further, neither approach has secured finalized funding and there is still no confirmed start date for when any Night Gym program would begin. The timeline depends largely on identifying financial resources, which could determine whether the program launches in the near term or is pushed into a future budget cycle.

     For now, both Night Gym concepts remain in development with both the Restaino administration and City Council pursuing different paths toward implementation.

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Niagara Falls Night Gym Push Sparks Divide Between Mayor, Council