NEW YORK—Fourteen New York City post offices could close in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens according to U.S Post Office (USPS) reports, leaving many community members without their local post office. In response, local officials assembled on Thursday in front of the West Village Post Office, which is one of the five Manhattan post offices in danger of closure.
“New York is a city of neighborhoods, and the local post office is a vital element of any neighborhood. There is still no service quite like it,” said State Senator Daniel Squadron in a press release.
The officials are calling on the USPS to stop unnecessary closure of neighborhood post offices and to alert the community in advance. The officials contend that the closures may not truly be helpful for solving the USPS’s financial problems.
“As New Yorkers strive to preserve their distinct neighborhoods in a difficult economic climate, I hope the USPS will work to find cost-cutting options that leave neighborhoods, and communities, intact,” said Squadron.
Members of the community and postal union were also there to voice their concerns.
“Small businesses would be devastated. The elderly, poor people, the disabled, they don’t have the options,” said Chuck Zlatkin, the legislative and political director for APWU, the New York Metro Area Postal Union.
Zlatkin said that the post office is an essential service in the Constitution which cannot be replaced by the Internet. He says that the largest volume the post office had was in 2006. “So it’s not the Internet.”
“People are not writing a letter to their grandma, but they’re using the post office to get their Netflix videos,” said Zlatkin.
If the West Village post office closes, West Village resident Albert Bennett said the neighborhood would need to use to the Village post office on Varick Street, which he says is very impersonal.
“An important aspect of this post office is that I know all the clerks, it’s like a mom and pop shop,” said Bennett, who is the president of the Morton Street Association in Greenwich Village which is dedicated to improving the community.
At the press conference, officials advocated two bills in congress in order to help more United States Postal Service offices to stay open. One of the bills, H.R. 658, the Access to Postal Services Act, would oblige the USPS to hold hearings with the public in regards to consolidations as well as justify their reasons for doing so. They would also be required to place public announcements by mail and in local newspapers, giving the community enough time to react.
“New York is a city of neighborhoods, and the local post office is a vital element of any neighborhood. There is still no service quite like it,” said State Senator Daniel Squadron in a press release.
The officials are calling on the USPS to stop unnecessary closure of neighborhood post offices and to alert the community in advance. The officials contend that the closures may not truly be helpful for solving the USPS’s financial problems.
“As New Yorkers strive to preserve their distinct neighborhoods in a difficult economic climate, I hope the USPS will work to find cost-cutting options that leave neighborhoods, and communities, intact,” said Squadron.
Members of the community and postal union were also there to voice their concerns.
“Small businesses would be devastated. The elderly, poor people, the disabled, they don’t have the options,” said Chuck Zlatkin, the legislative and political director for APWU, the New York Metro Area Postal Union.
Zlatkin said that the post office is an essential service in the Constitution which cannot be replaced by the Internet. He says that the largest volume the post office had was in 2006. “So it’s not the Internet.”
“People are not writing a letter to their grandma, but they’re using the post office to get their Netflix videos,” said Zlatkin.
If the West Village post office closes, West Village resident Albert Bennett said the neighborhood would need to use to the Village post office on Varick Street, which he says is very impersonal.
“An important aspect of this post office is that I know all the clerks, it’s like a mom and pop shop,” said Bennett, who is the president of the Morton Street Association in Greenwich Village which is dedicated to improving the community.
At the press conference, officials advocated two bills in congress in order to help more United States Postal Service offices to stay open. One of the bills, H.R. 658, the Access to Postal Services Act, would oblige the USPS to hold hearings with the public in regards to consolidations as well as justify their reasons for doing so. They would also be required to place public announcements by mail and in local newspapers, giving the community enough time to react.
