When the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced recently that they would close 53 post office branches in New York City – 11 of them in Queens – they also said that “customer response will be considered when deciding which offices will be closed.”
A day later, on Tuesday, August 4, USPS had reduced the number of closures to 14 in the city, and only two in Queens.
The Station B post office, located at 102-12 159th Avenue in Howard Beach, had been on the list. Calling the station near Coleman Square a “vital lifeline for our area,” City Councilmember Eric Ulrich called out postal honchos with a high noon demonstration scheduled for Monday, August 10.
The Howard Beach station will remain open.
Congressmember Anthony Weiner called a press conference in front of the USPS Fresh Meadows retail station on Tuesday, August 4 to criticize the closings, calling the selection method “not very nuanced.”
The Fresh Meadows station will also remain open.
From a list that would have also closed two post offices in Astoria, as well as branches in Linden Hill (Flushing), Whitestone, Little Neck and Ridgewood, the only post office closings still scheduled for Queens are at LaGuardia Airport and the Parcel Post Annex in Long Island City.
“There are things we can do to help the post office,” Weiner said, pointing out a simple rule change that would allow USPS to move $2 billion of its pension liability “off budget” so it does not add to their yearly loss.
“They don’t have to pay the $2 billion this year, so they shouldn’t have to budget for it,” he said.
According to USPS, the closings were determined by the number of facilities within five miles of the proposed closures, as well as their economic viability. “That doesn’t make sense in a walking city like New York,” Weiner said, pointing to local postal customers.
Sylvia Fine, who has lived in Fresh Meadows “since the development was built,” was dismayed that the post office might close. “It used to be just on the corner,” she said, “but they expanded because they did so much business.”
Weiner suggested other ways the USPS could increase their revenue, such as raising fees on commercial and junk mail, “which really can’t use post office competitors like UPS and FedEx.”
“But not on newspapers,” he quickly pointed out.
THE COURIER/Photo by VICTOR G. MIMONI
Congressmember Anthony Weiner discusses proposed post office closures as Fresh Meadows postal customers Sue Tuckman (left) and Sylvia Fine listen intently. Hours later, USPS recanted, leaving the office open.
