My Say
You don’t need to live in Glendale to recognize it is a distinct community that deserves its own ZIP code.
The residents, elected officials, and civic organizations of Glendale have long called for a ZIP code separate from Ridgewood’s. Congressman Bob Turner, Assemblyman Mike Miller and the Glendale Property Owners Association are leading the latest push.
They’ve offered excellent reasons why the neighborhood merits a dedicated ZIP code, ranging from simple convenience to legitimate health risks like missed medication shipments.
When one considers the role and responsibilities of government bodies like the United States Postal Service, it becomes even more obvious that the USPS should finally grant Glendale its own ZIP code.
Government agencies should serve the citizens; this is why they exist. That service includes being responsive to us. An agency that fails to account for the needs and desires of its citizens is simply not doing its job. If an agency cannot fulfill a reasonable request by citizens, it should explain very clearly to them why that is the case, and it should try to take steps to make it possible in the future.
Back in 2007, when it last rejected Glendale’s request, the USPS fell far short of this standard. It said “operational factors” got in the way, according to this newspaper. It added, “The ZIP code system was created and designed to provide an efficient postal distribution and delivery network.”
The USPS did not explain how granting Glendale the currently unused 11384 ZIP code would actually impede efficient postal distribution. It did not share its cost-benefit analysis with the public. It did not explain how it would work to make it possible in the future. It hid behind vague, unhelpful language.
The USPS does not have the best reputation at the moment. It is losing billions of dollars every year, and it has struggled with a perception that it is a slow-moving, out-of-touch bureaucracy. This is unfortunate, because hundreds of thousands of dedicated and hard-working employees help deliver our mail each day. And constraints imposed by Congress, as well as the rise of e-mail, surely have not helped.
The Glendale ZIP code issue, however, seems to confirm our worst fears about the USPS’s inability to provide what its customers want. The Postal Service must become more efficient, responsive, nimble, and transparent. That is the only way it will meet its responsibilities and better serve residents in Glendale and across the country.
There is a silver lining to the USPS’s gloomy situation. The fact that ZIP codes have such significance for community identity highlights the USPS’s cultural importance.
The agency told this newspaper in 2007, “The Postal Service does not assign ZIP codes solely to provide community identity.” Of course, Glendale advanced many arguments beyond community identity. Nonetheless, the USPS should embrace, not reject, its cultural relevance.
The fact that the USPS helped unite this country in its infancy, and remains one of the oldest institutions in the United States, will be essential to its survival. Without its cultural significance, the Postal Service might already have gone the way of the Pony Express.
The Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association’s t-shirt proudly features our 11421 ZIP code. Woodhaven residents love these shirts-they sold like hotcakes-because they display something we all have in common that is also unique to us.
I hope Glendale will soon be able to enjoy 11384 the same way Woodhaven enjoys 11421. When it happens, not only will Glendale be better off. It will also mean the USPS is closer to fulfilling its responsibilities to citizens while also welcoming its role as contributor to American culture and community identity.
Editor’s note: Blenkinsopp is a member of Community Board 9 and director of communications for the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association.
