The historic post office in Plymouth, Michigan, was sold earlier this year, and now the new owner has announced that the space will be leased to the Westborn Market, which will be opening a specialty grocery store. Westborn is working with state and local officials, including Plymouth’s Historic District Commission, to make sure renovations are in keeping with the building’s original … Read More
Another post office gets annexed: North Platte to relocate from downtown to industrial tract
The Postal Service is continuing to close downtown post offices and move retail services to inconveniently located postal facilities on the outskirts of town. While it may be efficient for carrier annexes and mail processing plants to be located where there's plenty of room for parking for postal workers and easy access for delivery trucks, these facilities were never intended … Read More
Youngwoo reveals plans for Bronx Post Office space
Youngwoo & Associates has filed permits to convert the recently purchased Bronx General Post Office to a mixed-use building, including space for retail, dining and offices. The renovated building, located at 558 Grand Concourse by East 149th Street would add 7,500 square feet to its existing 143,000, according to New York YIMBY. The refurbished space would host retail on the … Read More
The Post Office in Black and White, 1935-1944
For many photographers, taking pictures of post offices is a passion, and for good reason. Our country has are over 32,000 post offices, and they come in all shapes and sizes and vintages. Many of them may seem rather modest and nondescript at first glance, but in the eye of a collector, there's always something interesting to see. Many post offices … Read More
Postal Service workers and rural communities fear post office closures
Aljazeera America has an article today about POStPlan and the threat of more post office closures. It features an interview with Mark Jamison, who writes regularly for Save the Post Office. Leave it to a news outlet based in the Middle East to provide a thoughtful explanation of the roles of the post office and postmaster in a small town. … Read More
Prez throws PRC Chair under the bus, WaPo misses the bus completely
Josh Hicks has a piece in yesterday’s Washington Post about the announcement that Ruth Goldway has stepped down as Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, to be replaced by Commissioner Robert Taub as Acting Chairman. It's entitled “Jet-setting postal regulator replaced amid scrutiny of travel habits.” Hicks begin his article like this: “President Obama replaced the globetrotting chairman of the Postal … Read More
Sale of air rights over Old Chelsea post office causes controversy
As predicted in an article on this website back in September, the proposed sale of the air rights for the Old Chelsea Station office in Manhattan is causing controversy. At this point, the main issue is how the the Postal Service went about notifying — or failing to notify — community groups and elected officials. New York State Senator … Read More
Buyer opts out of purchase of historic Berkeley Post Office
The US Attorneys' office has notified the City of Berkeley that the prospective buyer of the Berkeley main post office has exercised an option to cancel the sale, which was set to close on December 22. News that the development firm of Hudson McDonald was the buyer of the post office was reported by Berkeleyside in early November, after weeks … Read More
NAPS urges PRC to open inquiry into expected slowdown of nation’s mail
The National Association of Postal Supervisors has requested the Postal Regulatory Commission to assess the impact of the Postal Service’s planned consolidation of 82 mail processing facilities, slated to begin in January 2015. The consolidations are expected to slow down delivery of much of the nation’s mail, especially in rural and small town America, and virtually eliminate overnight singlepiece First … Read More
POStPlan Implementation: Just 1,600 post offices to go, but far from done
The Postal Service has implemented POStPlan at about 11,400 post offices so far. That leaves approximately 1,630 offices where the window hours have yet to be reduced and the original postmaster is probably still on the job. You can see a list of these remaining offices here. (Note that while this list was made using USPS lists, it is not official … Read More
When public buildings were revered
The Boston Globe has a great op-ed piece about the legacy of the New Deal and the loss of the Union Square post office: “Today, the Union Square post office and Moffett’s patriotic mural have been sold, as the US Postal Service embarks on a liquidation program to reduce its $20 billion deficit. The building was purchased for $2.75 million … Read More
How’s the exigent rate increase doing?
Earlier this week, the Postal Service released its preliminary financial report for fiscal year 2014. Now may be a good time to evaluate the impacts of the exigent rate increase that went into effect on January 26, 2014. Back in September 2013, when the Postal Service presented testimony to the Postal Regulatory Commission about the proposed increase, one of the main … Read More
National Trust joins Berkeley in suit against Postal Service
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has joined the City of Berkeley in a lawsuit against the Postal Service over the sale of the Berkeley Main Post Office. The suit complains that the Postal Service has failed to comply with federal historic preservation laws prior to entering into a contract for sale of the building. The National Trust’s complaint is … Read More
Why Congress should not get out of the way of the Postal Service
BY MARK JAMISON News that Ron Johnson, the Tea Party favorite from Wisconsin, will be taking over as chair of the Senate committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs has caused an overwhelming sense of panic among progressives and postal workers. Johnson will control oversight of the Postal Service in the Senate. There may be good reason to think this … Read More
Did the Postal Service forget it owns the historic Lindsborg post office?
The Postal Service has closed the post office in Lindsborg, Kansas, because of concerns about the air quality. Apparently some black mold was discovered in the basement. That’s not too surprising considering that it’s an old building that dates back to 1936. The news reports don’t mention the phrase, but presumably the office was closed for an “emergency suspension.” Under … Read More
