By Joe Anuta
The United States Postal Service has decided to close its College Point sorting facility and move all operations to its Brooklyn location, the agency announced, although Congress has three months to reverse the decision.
The USPS alerted the postal workers union Wednesday about the decision to shutter the College Point facility, which employs 1,000 people, according to a letter addressed to the American Postal Workers Union. The decision was posted on the USPS website Thursday morning, with a list of facilities slated for closure, including the Queens processing center.
State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) blasted the decision, saying that more time is needed to study how to best shore up the struggling mail carrier amid falling profits.
“They have refused my and my community’s requests for more information and more time to study the closure before executing it. This will be devastating to our neighborhood, and many of my constituents’ livelihoods will be in peril,” she said in a statement. “This is like governmental ‘Jeopardy!’ — the USPS has the answers before we’ve asked the questions.”
But according to the USPS, the decision is not final.
“In keeping with the terms of an agreement the Postal Service made with Congress in December, no consolidation or closing of any postal facility will occur prior to May 15, 2012, to give Congress and the Administration the opportunity to enact an alternative plan. Implementation is also contingent upon the outcome of pending rule-making regarding a proposal to revise existing service standards,” the USPS said in a statement.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
