« U.S. Homes Sales on the Rise City Officials Call for Atlantic Yards Disclosure »

August 5, 2009

Brooklyn Spared In Great Post Office Purge of 2009

For weeks, there has been a media hullabaloo concerning the possible closure of up to 40 Brooklyn post offices. But it may be much ado about nothing, locally at least: The Brooklyn Paper reports that many of the offices feared doomed aren't even on the list for consideration. Specifically, the offices in neighborhoods like Park Slope, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Red Hook will be spared the gallows. The less fortunate offices will be studied by the USPS and considered for consolidation or closure. Additionally, the Times reported on August 4 that only 14 branches will be closed city-wide, and none of them are in Brooklyn.
Brownstone Brooklyn Spared [Brooklyn Paper]
Feds Go Postal on USPS [Brooklyn Paper]
USPS Full Study [USPS]
Postal Service May Close 14 Branches [NY Times]
Photo by Kate Leonova via PropertyShark

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/10877

Comments

If the USPS did have us by the short-hairs, ALL of them would have been closed by now!

Posted by: tybur6 at August 5, 2009 9:35 AM

The post office maybe the single worst run organization on the planet - if you closed all of them, most people wouldnt notice....

Posted by: fsrg at August 5, 2009 9:36 AM

They don't deserve your business, especially Myrtle Ave and Atlantic in boreum hill.

Posted by: DeLepp at August 5, 2009 9:39 AM

the one in soho closed down in june and now i have to go all the way to canal street to mail packages and stuff. so annoying. but the one in soho was notoriously the worst one in nyc, look it up online. they never had AC and the lines were always out the door. the people who worked there were abusive too, tho i noticed the people who were patrons were abusive as well (snotty soho living types who have nothing to do in the middle of the day except mail their relatives expensive gifts type of people).

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 5, 2009 10:09 AM

If the branch on 9th st in the Slope closed today, I would still stand in line and my wait may actually be less

Posted by: jasetheace at August 5, 2009 10:12 AM

As long as my mail is delivered I could care less, most Brooklyn Post Offices are horrible: Empire/Nostrand - slow as molasses, Fulton/St. James - rude as hell. Remember this from a few years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdrqLrdYAr0

Posted by: Crownlfc at August 5, 2009 10:20 AM

Why all the hate on USPS?

Do you have any idea how much FedEx or UPS would charge to deliver a letter to California?

And last 3 or 4 times I went to a UPS Store to ship a package I had my time wasted, was treated like I was a nuisance by the staff, and was charged about 3 times as much as USPS would charge. So, pretty much exactly the same miserable experience, but I just paid more for it...

Posted by: northsloperenter at August 5, 2009 10:20 AM

What post office in the 5 boroughs *doesn't* have abusive, discourteous staff? And absurd lines that don't seem to move?

Seriously, please let me know, I will take the train and set up a PO Box so I can receive packages there.

Whatever, screw the US Postal Service.

They spend so much time and money trying to improve the speed and efficiency of the mail... I would MUCH rather see my packages and letters slowed down by a day or so and get pleasant, competent and adequate staff at the damn branches! Close some if you must, but FIX the ones that are left!

There's a glorious thing called UPS -- you can set up your own account, pay with a credit card. Send 10 x 13 envelopes and small packages via UPS ground... usually faster and cheaper than even priority mail... and you get full package tracking!! We're still stuck using the USPS for regular ol' letters though... though is may be easier to hand deliver sometimes.

Posted by: tybur6 at August 5, 2009 10:21 AM

Well, I really love the convenience of the small
Post Office on PPW in Windsor Terrace, and I'm very pleased that it won't be closing... and yes, around the holidays the lines can be daunting, but it's a nice time to catch a chat with neighbors I haven't seen in a bit. :)

Posted by: bren at August 5, 2009 10:21 AM

The post office in redhook should really have been put down. I don't care if someone sends me a gold brick registered - I will never go back to that office again. I actually had hope.

Posted by: Ljubitca at August 5, 2009 10:23 AM

Northslope, you never use the services at a UPS Store... you do it yourself! Print the labels at home and give your item to a UPS driver at work or wherever. (pick-up requests costs extra)

Posted by: tybur6 at August 5, 2009 10:25 AM

There are good things about the postal service but there are horrendous things about the various post offices. Just yesterday I had to wait 45 minutes at the one on 7th Av. One window was open most of the time & the queue was out the door. The manager swanned in & out of the waiting area to refill slots w/ forms that weren't needed & was really snippy when we asked that the ceiling fans be turned on (the staff are in a/c splendor behind their cages.) She could easily have opened a window, herself, to help w/ the overload. It's particularly galling when you hear the workers on their lunch break whooping it up & having a terrific time while those on line are frittering their own breaks in misery.

Posted by: Arkady at August 5, 2009 10:25 AM

Crownlfc... the problem is... what if your mail ISN'T being deliverd?! I ran into this special little problem. With the glorious folks at the "Adelphi Station" serving Prospect Heights... and perhaps your area too!

Mail forwarded when I moved. Received mail for one day at new address. Never saw mail again for a week. Called, stopped in, called, faxed, stopped by again, etc etc etc. FINALLY, I got an answer... "Oh, your regular carrier is on vacation for 3 weeks."

So, apparently, that means I don't get mail for 3 weeks because only my regular carrier knows how to forward mail... best part, I discovered (because I had overlapping leases and still had the key) that my mail was still being DELIVERED to my old address... Nice right?

Posted by: tybur6 at August 5, 2009 10:28 AM

Any post office that has the self-service machines is worth it - nobody ever seems to use them. I'm a particular fan of the branch on Coney Island Avenue between I & J.

Posted by: sixyearsandcounting at August 5, 2009 10:29 AM

tybur6 -
FYI, the PO at Grand Station is awesome. They actually have an employee that keeps the line moving AND assists you with anything you may need while in line.

Posted by: jasetheace at August 5, 2009 10:32 AM

6yrs - Yeah, those machines are great except they don't do media mail which is the main reason I have to go to the branch. You can pay extra & print postage at home so you can mail parcels over 13 oz in a box but I hate paying even more than the usual tariff.

Posted by: Arkady at August 5, 2009 10:33 AM

^^Grand Central

Posted by: jasetheace at August 5, 2009 10:34 AM

I was really hoping they would close down the post office on Atlantic on Boerum Hill. That place is the 9th circle of hell.

Posted by: bivouac at August 5, 2009 10:35 AM

"I hate paying even more than the usual tariff."

Do you think some magic fairy should delivery your packages for free?

Posted by: northsloperenter at August 5, 2009 10:37 AM

Just to balance out the negativity of my previous statement, I've had pretty good experiences at the Tillary St. office.

Atlantic Avenue == HELL, though. No doubt about it.

Posted by: bivouac at August 5, 2009 10:38 AM

Agree with the other poster re: Red Hook -Oy!- though it seems most post offices are pretty painful. The trick appears to be finding that oddly located one that nobody seems to go to. The P/O at 1 Hanover Place is generally pretty good (on a relative scale) and close to the J/M/Z if you're seriously looking for a new post office.

Posted by: CG_ups at August 5, 2009 10:42 AM

I've posted this before, but it should be a staple of Brownstoner PO threads:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdrqLrdYAr0

Posted by: sixyearsandcounting at August 5, 2009 10:45 AM

northsloperenter - Why pay above the usual fee for anything? As you quoted in your snide rejoinder, I didn't say I wanted it free.

Posted by: Arkady at August 5, 2009 10:48 AM

I used to use the PO on 9th St., in PS, in preference to my local (PLG/CH) branch at Empire and Nostrand but, over the last few years, the former has gotten much worse and the latter has gotten slightly better. However my favorite PO branch is the small on on Prospect Park W in WT.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at August 5, 2009 10:53 AM

Luckily... fingers crossed... I have avoided even knowing *where* my local post office is at my new place. I want to keep it that way. My current mailman knows how to tuck packages on my porch to "hide" them. Haven't gotten one of those evil "pick-up" notices since I moved. Hope I haven't jinxed myself.

Posted by: tybur6 at August 5, 2009 10:59 AM

I could go on and on about Adelphi Station in Clinton Hill--absolutely awful. A few weeks ago there was a huge line, only two windows open, and one of the digital scales wasn't working properly, making things even slower.

The annoying manager is flitting about, not doing much of anything. I asked him why he wasn't working a window and he told me he wasn't allowed!!! I assume this is some whack union rule, which he of course chooses to follow to the letter.

Can you imagine being a manager in a service business and NOT stepping in when things get busy? Only at the USPS.

Posted by: tinarina at August 5, 2009 11:05 AM

Tinarina,
There's only one thing worse than being at the receiving end of union rules that are harmful to the customer... it's being the manager of these employees. (Especially if the manager is non-union!) I wish this was only a USPS problem.

I won't go off on unions in general, well, because I happen to be a union member and I got a (tiny) raise this summer as compared to many friends that had pay cuts or furloughs.... BUT that being said, there are so so so so many areas in which unions are TERRIBLE and are harmful to BOTH the company and the employee (not to mention the customer)

Posted by: tybur6 at August 5, 2009 11:10 AM

P.S. I'm not a very good union member. I tend to work late and take on several assignments that are "above my classification." But guess what, they can suck it. I like my job.

Posted by: tybur6 at August 5, 2009 11:12 AM

who the hell even uses the post office more than twice a year? they need to transform the most of the existing ones to electronic kiosks and dump staff. they just lost $2.4 billion last quarter! also, cut mail delivery to mon-fri only.

Posted by: martis at August 5, 2009 11:25 AM

"Why pay above the usual fee for anything? As you quoted in your snide rejoinder, I didn't say I wanted it free."

Well, you pay above the usual fee to avoid the harassment of dealing with post office staff.

Sorry for the snide... I'm sick with nothing to do but apartment hunt and loiter on brownstoner. Makes me cranky...

Posted by: northsloperenter at August 5, 2009 11:42 AM

my post office is great....maybe you guys should move to queens

Posted by: aj at August 5, 2009 12:06 PM

tybur6--

I hear you on unions. But without them, I think corporate America would be fleecing the little guy even more. At the very least, they need some thorns in their side.

The USPS should just be completely overhauled, though.

Posted by: tinarina at August 5, 2009 12:17 PM

Yes, the Grand Central one, Borough Hall, and the Church Street one in Manhattan are usually brilliant. It goes to show that if you have a competent manager and a some what proffesional staff - it is possible to run a decent post office.

Posted by: Crownlfc at August 5, 2009 2:56 PM

« U.S. Homes Sales on the Rise City Officials Call for Atlantic Yards Disclosure »

August 5, 2009

Brooklyn Spared In Great Post Office Purge of 2009

Trackback Pings

Comments

Post a comment

Latest Restaurant Additions