Easton Boys & Girls Club Prepares to Reopen on South Side

The revamped on the city's South Side won't officially open for another month.

But that hasn't stopped people -- many of whom live in the city's new Neston Heights development, which surrounds the club -- from coming by, checking things out, and using the facilities.

"They're kind of eyeing it up. They know we're here," Dean Young, the club's director, said Thursday. "We're ahead of schedule, but they live right there."

Within 20 minutes, people from the neighborhood were proving him right. There was at least one adult, a woman who wanted to work out in the club's new gym. But most were kids, there to do homework, use the club computers, or simply be with their friends.

"You know you don't have to go anywhere looking for your friends," said middle schooler Shania Heath, explaining the appeal of the club. "It's like staying out late, but your parents know where you are, so you don't get in trouble."

The Boys & Girls Club provides a number of services, including homework help, mentoring and tutoring, college tours as well as classes and clubs in the arts, health, technology, plus a variety of sports activities. The official grand opening of the South Side club is set for Nov. 21.

The new club coincides with the recent , a housing development that replaced the city's Delaware Terrace. The Delaware Terrace homes were interchangable red brick boxes; the Neston Heights buildings are a variety of colors and sizes.

Looking off in the distance, Young pointed off to Morgan Hill in Williams Township. He talked about how he used to take club members there, allowing them to see a view that stretches out to Nazareth.

"Now, we can go up there and look down on this, and it's just as beautiful," Young said. "You can say 'That's our home.'"