One of Milwaukee's Boys and Girls Clubs will close its doors Friday. The Daniels-Mardak location will no longer be part of the Boys and Girls system because of a lease disagreement.
"It's a shame, it's a sad day," said Carla Brinkley, grandparent.
Two-hundred and fifty to 300 kids come to the Daniels-Mardak Boys and Girls Club during the summer. When school starts 180 kids use the site.
"I'm bummed, this is another place that the kids don't have to hang out in a safe environment. Then the alternative is they're on the streets or they're home alone," Brinkley said.
Families are sad to see the club leave the north side neighborhood after 13 years.
"You got a lot of people whose parents probably don't have cars in the neighborhood who can't get to another Boys and Girls Club so I mean it's a bad thing," said Edie Parr, a parent.
The kids said they'll miss their friends.
"Before I came here I did not know how to play basketball at all and now I think I'm pretty good," said Cartier Parr, a 7th grader.
They told us it beats daycare.
"All we do is color and watch TV, here we get to do a lot of stuff," said Carriana Ecklund, a 5th grader.
The location is closing because of a landlord-tenant dispute.
"We couldn't resolve it so we are moving forward," said Kimberly Walker, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee.
The organization is trying to make the transition smooth by waiting until the end of summer programming.
"We want to apologize for any inconvenience because we understand that change can be tough and that's why we are going the extra mile to make sure that we make this as seamless as possible," Walker said.
All staff will relocate to other sites. Parents are weighing their options.
"I was like, this is great they can come here every summer and now it's closed and I don't know what they're gonna do next summer," said Erica Ecklund, a parent.
There is a new Boys and Girls Club location opening at Obama High School this fall. It's less than a mile from Daniels-Mardak.
