The delayed closings of Co-op City’s post offices are providing the community more time to reverse the United States Postal Service decision.
A late October report stated that the USPS would continue to close locations throughout the country due to a large budget deficit, including Co-op City’s Einstein Post Office at 127 Einstein Loop and Dreiser Loop Post Office at 179 Dreiser Loop.
Congressman Joe Crowley, who has been fighting against the USPS closings within his district, joined hundreds of local residents on Monday, November 14 in front of the Einstein Post Office for the first of many rallies to keep Co-op City’s post offices open.
On Tuesday, December 13, Crowley announced that the USPS has delayed the closure or consolidation of thousands of post offices throughout the country, including Co-op City’s two locations, until May 2012.
“With the holidays just days away, this decision is welcome news for families in the Bronx. While this decision does not mean our postal facilities are in the clear, it does allow for more time to seek alternatives to help the USPS meet its financial obligations,” Crowley said. “I understand the Postal Service has hit rock bottom, but balancing its books on the backs of Bronx families is not the answer.”
If Co-op City were to lose both of their post offices, the nearest location, at 3300 Conner Street, is a mile away for a community with a large elderly population. Residents chanted as much as they could at the chilly November morning rally, and Crowley promised Co-op City everything would be done to keep their post offices intact.
Crowley, one of 226 co-sponsors of the H.R. 1351 bill, said the bill would allow the Postal Service to apply billions of dollars in pension overpayments to the congressional mandate that requires the USPS to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of its future retirees.
The bill, also known as the ‘Save America’s Postal Service’ bill, is gaining strong attention throughout the country and would give the USPS enough funding to keep the facilities open and allow the thousands of jobs at risk to remain safe.
“I will continue to fight to keep these facilities open, keep jobs in the Bronx, and keep the critical services residents need in our community,” Crowley said.
Should the USPS close the Co-op City post offices in May 2012, residents will have another 60 days to fight the closures.
Reach Vito Signorile via e-mail at vsignorile@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 742-3383.
