The Postal Service may no longer be talking about closing thousands of post offices, but it has been busy “relocating” them. In dozens of cities across the country, a downtown post office is being closed and the building, often a historic landmark, is being sold. According to the Postal Service, however, the post office isn't actually "closing." Because a new, … Read More
HuffPost: Dianne Feinstein’s Husband Tied To Questionable Dealings With Postal Service
Huffington Post has a piece about Peter Byrne's new book investigating the sale of postal properties by CBRE, the world's largest commercial real estate firm, whose chairman is Richard C. Blum, husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein. The piece follows articles in the Wall Street Journal and L.A. Times, which suggests that this story isn't going away anytime soon. Read more. You can … Read More
GSA auction of Yankton, SD post office closes
The Internet auction for the former downtown Yankton Post Office has closed. According to the General Services Administration (GSA) auction page, bidding ended at 10 a.m. Wednesday with a high bid of $206,000. The Postal Service will now take time to evaluate the bid before accepting it. (When the building was initially listed on the USPS-CBRE website, the asking price … Read More
Privatization Nightmare: Alternet excerpts new book on Sen. Feinstein’s Husband Selling Post Offices, Cheap
Alternet, the syndication service and online community of the alternative press, which receives more than 1.5 million unique monthly visitors, has published an excerpt from Peter Byrne's recent report on the sale of postal facilities by CBRE. The article is entitled "Privatization Nightmare: Sen. Dianne Feinstein's Husband Selling Post Offices to His Friends, Cheap," and the subtitle reads "An investigative journalist … Read More
Two historic post offices in Connecticut get gutted
When the Postal Service sold two historic post offices in Connecticut, there was probably a general sense that they would be protected by preservation laws. But over the past few weeks, the post offices in Fairfield and Greenwich have been totally gutted, and a good portion of the Fairfield exterior has been destroyed as well. About all that will … Read More
Post Offices sold and for sale: An update on the inventory
It’s not easy getting information out of the Postal Service about the properties it has sold or those it has earmarked for disposal, but thanks to investigative reporter Peter Byrne, a lot of news articles, and various other sources, there’s enough information out there to piece together a picture. Here’s what it looks like. Overall, the Postal Service has sold … Read More
Historic Berkeley Post Office is listed for sale on CBRE website
The historic post office in Berkeley, California, is now being listed on the USPS-CBRE Properties for Sale website. No price yet. The listing went up over this past weekend, and it has already evoked some colorful responses. City councilman Jesse Arreguín released the following statement: ”It’s not often that one encounters such brazen bad faith — even in politics! The USPS cannot on … Read More
USPS properties for lease: Business as usual or a new approach to excess space?
The Postal Service and its real estate broker CBRE have created a new website advertising postal properties for lease. It’s the companion site to the USPS-CBRE Properties for Sale website, which went up in November 2011. The domain name for the new site was registered in April 2013, but the site may have gone online just in the past few weeks. … Read More
Ralph Nader writes Senator Feinstein on potential conflict of interest in CBRE’s sale of post offices
After reading Peter Byrne's article in the East Bay Express about the potential conflicts of interest in the sale of postal facilities by her husband Richard Blum, Ralph Nader has written to Senator Dianne Feinstein to express his concerns. Mr. Nader suggests that "to remove all doubt of impropriety, you should: introduce and champion a bill to immediately suspend all … Read More
Going Postal: The husband of US Senator Dianne Feinstein has been selling post offices to his friends, cheap
The East Bay Express is running an article today that's an slightly edited version of the first chapter of Peter Byrne's "Going Postal: The husband of US Senator Dianne Feinstein has been selling post offices to his friends, cheap." Byrne's year-long investigation uncovered evidence of multiple conflicts of interest and problems with post office sales supervised by Blum's company, including: • CBRE … Read More
New report describes conflicts of interest in sales of USPS property by CBRE
PRESS RELEASE Going Postal: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s husband sells post offices to his friends, cheap, by Peter Byrne. Kindle Edition available on Amazon.com (accessible on any Mac or tablet). An excerpt is here. The husband of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California has been selling post offices at bargain basement prices — often to his own business partners. That’s … Read More
Berkeley scholar on radio to discuss sale of post offices
Gray Brechin, a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley and founder of the Living New Deal Project, as on KALW radio to discuss the significance of post office and historic postal buildings like the Berkeley post office, which is about to be sold. More than 600 buildings have been targeted for sale. Brechin has plenty to say about the role … Read More
Going, going, gone: Historic post offices on the GSA’s auction block
When journalists ask the Postal Service which post offices might be sold, they’re typically referred to the USPS-CBRE website, as if it represents a complete list. But there are other post offices for sale, and a few of them are currently listed on the GSA auction site. Apparently, selling these properties didn’t turn out to be the boon the Postal Service may … Read More
No end in Climax: The temporary suspension of the post office goes on and on
The owner of the building that formerly housed the post office in Climax, Georgia, has asked the Postal Regulatory Commission to do something about the de facto closing of the post office last year. Morgan Wolaver, the landlord, has submitted an extensive Memorandum to the PRC arguing that the Postal Service illegally closed the post office and that the Commission … Read More
Legacy at risk: The OIG audits the Postal Service’s disposal of historic properties
The USPS Office of Inspector General is preparing an audit report about the sale of historic post office buildings. The objective of the study is “to review the Postal Service’s process and plans for the disposal and preservation of historic properties.” The OIG poses two main questions: “Do you think the Postal Service follows proper procedures when disposing of historic … Read More
Relocating the Dana Point post office: What’s the point?
The Postal Service has decided to relocate its postal facility in Dana Point, California. The Postal Service currently owns a 20,000-square-foot building housing a retail post office and a carrier operation, but postal officials say they need only 11,000 square feet, so they want to sell the building and lease a smaller space. Diana Alvarado, manager of property management for … Read More