By Rebecca Henely
Legislators from around the borough and dozens of post office workers held a protest Friday against the proposed closure of the USPS sorting facility on 20th Avenue and the Whitestone Expressway Service Road in College Point.
“What they’re attempting to do … is shortchanging not only people in Queens County but people in Brooklyn County,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights).
The proposal calls for transferring to the College Point operations to the sorting facility in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn.
State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone), who organized the event, said the proposal to close the plant, which she estimated could put more than 1,000 people out of work, was based on a feasibility study that no legislators have seen. Despite the study’s not being released to the public, the comment period for the proposal ends Monday.
“Why is it we couldn’t see this study prior to public comment?” asked City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone). “Why was the public comment period so short?”
A spokeswoman from USPS previously told the TimesLedger Newspapers that 700 USPS workers would be relocated to other jobs and the layoffs would save the office nearly $31 million.
Stavisky’s petition to keep the facility open can be found at nysenate.gov/webform/sign-senator-staviskys-petition-keep-mail-center-queens.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
