The Landmarks Conservancy has agreed to grant landmark protection status to the interior of the Bronx General Post Office, with its priceless murals by Ben Shahn, one of America’s leading Social Realist artists. The exterior had been declared a landmark previously, so this extends protection to the interior as well. Video here.
Village Post Office opens Thursday; fire destroys post office Friday
On Friday, a fire of unknown origins destroyed the post office in the small town of Stopover, Kentucky. It could be just a coincidence, but the odd thing is that a Village Post Office opened in Stopover the day before. The post office is part of POStPlan, and the hours were reduced to four a day earlier this year. Now box … Read More
The PMG has a bridge to sell: The GAO report on the Postal Service healthcare plan
BY MARK JAMISON One of the cornerstones of PMG Pat Donahoe’s plans for the Postal Service is the transfer of postal employees and retirees from the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) into a plan run by the Postal Service itself. Mr. Donahoe has assured everyone that a Postal Service plan would offer the same level of benefits at similar … Read More
PRC dismisses appeal to stop Berkeley post office sale
An appeal to stop the sale of the historic 99-year-old post office in Downtown Berkeley was dismissed by the Postal Regulatory Commission on Tuesday. The appeal, filed by Mayor Tom Bates, contends that the U.S. Postal Service should select a site for the Berkeley main post office’s relocation before selling the building and did not consider how the sale will … Read More
Is there a pattern here? Three more post offices closing over “lease disputes”
The Postal Service has a long history of using manufactured problems over lease negotiations to close post offices by emergency suspension, to initiate a discontinuance procedure, and to justify relocations to smaller spaces. The Postal Service typically tells the media that the landlord terminated the lease or the parties couldn’t come to an agreement. Just as typically, the landlord reveals … Read More
No way! PRC rejects appeal on post office closure for being late — by one day
Last Friday afternoon, the Postal Regulatory Commission sent letters to the folks appealing the closure of the Franklin Station post office in Somerset County, New Jersey, telling them the appeals had been filed too late and were consequently being rejected. The appeals were postmarked one day after the filing deadline. The Commission’s decision is disturbing for a number of reasons. … Read More
A PR junket, a fishing trip, or what? The PMG goes to N. Dakota to open a new post office
While the Postal Service is busy closing post offices across the country, from Berkeley to the Bronx, and in places like Frestatt, Mo., and Franklin, N.J., the Postmaster General flew out to Williston, North Dakota, last week to meet with Senator John Hoeven to talk about opening a new post office in town. Apparently with all the new apartment complexes … Read More
Hurricane Sandy closes Sea Bright post office temporarily; USPS to close it permanently
Hurricane Sandy closed 20 post offices in central and southern New Jersey. Nearly all of them have reopened, but one of them will not be reopening at all. The Postal Service has decided this is a good time to begin a discontinuance procedure to close the post office in Sea Bright permanently. Last week three USPS reps met with the … Read More
Historic Palmer Square post office in Princeton headed for sale
The Postal Service moved another step closer toward shutting down the historic Palmer Square post office in Princeton, N.J. A 30-day comment period began on August 9, giving citizens a chance to have input (not that it will matter). The Postal Service wanted to sell the building back in 2011, but the process was delayed by the state’s Historic … Read More
Santa Monica considers preservation covenant on historic (former) post office
The historic Santa Monica post office was shut down on June 29, and now the Postal Service is preparing to sell the building. City officials are looking for ways to protect the building by creating a “preservation covenant” that would, according to City staff, “prohibit the purchaser of the property, as well as all future owners of the property, from undertaking any … Read More
Post office in Foxboro MA to be sold but office not closing, just relocating, somewhere
The Postal Service plans to close the post office in Foxborough, Mass., and sell the building. Operations would move to Mansfield, and a small retail office would open to replace the office on Wall Street. According to the Postal Service, this means that the post office isn't really closing. “We’re not closing any post office. We’re going to relocate the … Read More
Christmas for Pat: A heartwarming tale in which everyone gets what they want — and then doesn’t
BY MARK JAMISON You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going because you might not get there. – Yogi Berra It’s August and Congress is on its annual five-week summer break. Despite statements by folks like Senator Tom Carper and Congressman Darrell Issa, we don’t seem to be any closer to postal reform than we’ve … Read More
Musical chairs in Reading PA leaves historic post office without a place
Add another historic post office building to the list of those being sold. The Postal Service has announced that it plans to close the main post office at 59 North Fifth Street in downtown Reading, Pennsylvania, and put the building on the market. The Postal Service says there’s too much space in the building for its needs, and it points to … Read More
Postal Service’s July financial statement shows continued improvement
The Postal Service’s July financial report is something to write home about. It looks as though the improvements seen over the past several months continue to hold strong. (The July report is here. If you want to compare it to June, that’s here.) Revenues are up 1.6 percent over the same period last year (i.e., ten months, Oct. – July). … Read More
Historic St. Paul post office turns into apartment building
According to the Twin Cities Pioneer, "The former U.S. Post Office on Kellogg Boulevard in downtown St. Paul was sold Friday to a local development group, which plans to turn the Art Deco building into market-rate apartments." The building went for $5.25 million. The Postal Service relocated retail services from the downtown office to a new, smaller location a few … Read More
Nader gives Issa a piece of his mind
Long-time post office advocate Ralph Nader has written a long letter to Congressman Darrell Issa expressing "deep concern" over Issa's Postal Reform Act of 2013. "Many of the provisions that you have included in this bill," writes Nader, "would do significant harm to the U.S. Postal Service, which is not in as dire a situation as many in the … Read More
