Rep. Maloney, elected officials, postal workers & Roosevelt Islanders rally to save local post office
NEW YORK, NY - Today, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, State Senator José M. Serrano, Assembly Member Micah Kellner, City Council Member Jessica Lappin, Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation President Leslie Torres, Roosevelt Island Residents Association President Matthew Katz, Chuck Zlatkin of the American Postal Workers Union, and Roosevelt Island community leaders and residents rallied outside the Roosevelt Island Station to urge the United States Postal Service to keep open the only post office located on Roosevelt Island.
Maloney and her fellow elected officials and community members have collected more than 1,600 signatures from Roosevelt Islanders who want to keep their post office open for business, and plan on delivering the petitions to the Postal Service later this week.
At today’s event, Maloney also urged Islanders to reach out to the Postal Service directly, and issued the following list of actions people can take to save Roosevelt Island Station:
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SAVE YOUR POST OFFICE
□ Sign a petition, or create one that your neighbors and friends can sign, urging the Postal Service to keep Roosevelt Island Station open.
Petitions can be sent to:
Mr. Patrick Donahoe
U.S. Postmaster General
475 L’Enfant Plaza West, SW
Washington, DC 20260
□ Write a letter to Postmaster Donahoe (at the address above);
Call the Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777 (Open Monday to Saturday); or Click here to e-mail the Postal Service.
□ Contact the USPS via the methods above and request a public hearing, so that USPS officials can hear your views in person.
In July, the Postal Service announced that it was studying the possibility of closing Roosevelt Island Station and 3,652 other post offices nationwide. The USPS placed Roosevelt Island Station on its list of potential closures because Roosevelt Island Station had less than $600,000 in revenue last year, and there are more than 15 alternate postal “access points” within a ten-mile radius. However, as Maloney and others argued today, Roosevelt Island is home to many seniors and persons with disabilities who could not walk to the next-nearest post office nearly a mile-and-a-half away in Queens, and the only other postal “access point” on the Island itself is a Duane Reade that sells stamps – hardly a substitute for a full post office. A final decision on which post offices will be closed is expected later this year.
Earlier this month, Maloney and her fellow elected officials wrote to U.S. Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe urging him to keep Roosevelt Island Station open, and requesting that USPS hold a public hearing on the potential closure so affected New Yorkers could express their views. A copy of that letter follows.
“As the name suggests, Roosevelt Island is an island. The post office has identified alternate post offices in a ten-mile radius – but other than a Duane Reade that sells stamps, all the other alternatives are located across the East River, a swift-moving body of water. While I love the people of Roosevelt Island, they can’t walk on water, so they won’t be able to walk to the next-closest branch,” said Maloney.
“Roosevelt Island Station serves residents of a community with many senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and Section 8 recipients. The island was specifically designed to be virtually car-free and, indeed, very few residents of this community own cars. Almost all postal customers using Roosevelt Island Station walk there – or use wheelchairs,” Maloney added. “So, today, we are asking to Postal Service to look at the needs of this neighborhood, the nature of the customer base here on Roosevelt Island, and the long distances people will have to travel by foot to reach the nearest alternate postal facility – and conclude, as we have, that this vital community post office must remain open for business. Save our post office!”
"Access to a post office is a right that most New Yorkers take for granted, and it is inconceivable that such a right might now be taken away from the people who live on Roosevelt Island. I am proud to join with Rep. Carolyn Maloney and many other elected officials, community leaders and residents today in urging the United States Postal Service to keep open the only such office serving this important community. Forcing residents to walk one and a half miles to the next nearest post office, in Queens, is no solution at all -- not for seniors, not for persons with disabilities, or anyone else who lives on Roosevelt Island,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.
State Senator José M. Serrano said, “Closing the only post office on Roosevelt Island simply does not make sense. For the most vulnerable Island residents, traveling to Astoria or Manhattan to drop off mail is clearly not an option. I urge the United States Postal Service to ensure that the Roosevelt Island Post Office remain open for business, as its closure would deeply inconvenience all those living and working on the island.”
“Under this plan the US Postal Service literally expects Roosevelt Islanders to walk on water to get their mail,” said Assembly Member Kellner. “But Islanders shouldn’t need a miracle to keep this post office open.”
"Our message is signed, sealed and delivered -- keep Roosevelt Island Station open," said Council Member Jessica Lappin.
"Roosevelt Island is a small town community that relies on the services of the USPS every day," said Leslie Torres, President of the Roosevelt Island Corporation. "Closing the only station on the island will create an incredible hardship especially on the elderly and disabled residents that use the station for their everyday postal needs."
“The Roosevelt Island Post Office serves a special population in a planned community that includes a significant number of low-income residents, seniors and the disabled, who should not have to take public transportation to visit a post office. In addition, we host an international population of diplomats, United Nations and foreign mission workers with specialized postal needs requiring full post office services. We can’t walk to the next nearest station; we are an island surrounded by water. Swimming for stamps is not an option,” said Matthew Katz, President of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association.
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COALITION OF ELECTED OFFICIALS OF ROOSEVELT ISLAND, NY
c/o Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney
1651 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10128
August 12, 2011
Mr. Patrick R. Donahoe
Postmaster General
US Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza West, SW
Washington, DC 20260
Dear Mr. Donahoe:
We write to you as elected officials representing constituents using the Roosevelt Island Station Post Office located at 694 Main Street, New York, NY 10044. It is our understanding that the United States Postal Service (USPS) will begin a study for potential consolidation (closure) of Roosevelt Island Station. Closing this facility would severely burden residents living in the area who rely on it for their daily needs.
Roosevelt Island Station is the only postal facility located on Roosevelt Island, which is surrounded on all sides by the East River, a swift-moving body of water. The island is connected to Manhattan by subway and tram, and to Queens by a vehicular and pedestrian bridge. It serves residents of a community with many senior citizens, persons with disabilities and Section 8 recipients. Unlike most parts of the country, a significant number of residents of this community do not own cars, and almost all postal customers using Roosevelt Island Station walk there.
To reach an alternative post office, residents would have to take a subway or a tram to Manhattan, or walk a mile and a half into Queens. For Islanders, a trip to the post office would take at least a half an hour each way if they choose to go by subway or tram, or more than 45 minutes each way if they choose to walk. For the significant number of seniors and disabled people living on the island, a trip to the post office would become impracticable. In evaluating the efficacy of closing this facility, we hope that you will look at the unique conditions on Roosevelt Island. Simply measuring a distance on a map tells you very little about the ease or difficulty of reaching the destination.
We have heard the suggestion that many postal services can be accessed by computer. The population around Roosevelt Island Station includes large numbers of senior citizens and economically disadvantaged person who do not have computers and therefore do not use email or pay bills online.
We believe that the USPS would lose a significant amount of revenue if it were to close Roosevelt Island Station. Although Roosevelt Island itself is similar to small towns in the number of retail outlets, the island is part of a large urban area with many alternative providers. There is no guarantee that Roosevelt Island Station customers will simply transfer their business to another USPS outlet. Federal Express, United Parcel Service, DHL, and similar private mail or package delivery service do pick up. Further, customers wishing to purchase a postal order can easily get a money order through the local bank.
We hope that you will look at the realities of this neighborhood, the nature of Roosevelt Island Station’s customer base and the long distance people will have to travel to reach a different post office. For all of the foregoing reasons, we urge you to keep Roosevelt Island Station open. We would like to meet with you, or the District Manager/Postmaster of the New York District, William J. Schnaars, to discuss these concerns further. Additionally, we hope that you will hold a public hearing to allow our constituents to express their views to you.
Sincerely,
CAROLYN B. MALONEY, Member of Congress
SCOTT STRINGER, Manhattan Borough President
JOSÉ M. SERRANO, State Senator
MICAH KELLNER, Member of Assembly
JESSICA LAPPIN, City Council Member