As part of its plan to close the Hunts Point post office, the Postal Service will hold a forum at the Hunts Point Recreation Center on Manida Street on Thursday, Dec. 15, from 6-7 p.m. to answer questions and hear from the public.
“We must speak up and not allow it to be taken away from us,” said Rafael Salamanca, the district manager of Community Board 2. “Board 2 along with Congressman Serrano, local elected officials, Hunts Point Economic Development Corporation and community-based organizations worked very hard to bring a post office to the Hunts Point community.
According to the Postal Service, revenue from the local post office has declined from $641,000 three years ago to $514,000 last year. Nationwide, the service lost $2.6 billion in the first six months of this year.
In July, the Postal Service announced its intention to close as many as 3,700 post offices nationwide, including 17 in the Bronx. Residents and elected officials greeted he announcement and follow up meetings like the one scheduled for Hunts Point with protests.
The official notice of the proposal to close the Hunts Point station says that “There are a number of alternate sites within a short radius that can provide the sale of stamps and the mailing of most packages.” For full service, the notice adds, the nearest post office would be the Boulevard station on Southern Boulevard and East 167th Street.
Over the next 10 years, the Postal Service contends, it will save nearly $4 million by closing the local office.
In addition to attending the meeting at the Recreation Center, residents may send written comments to the Hunts Point Post Office, 800 Manida Street, Bronx NY 10474, att. Mr. Tetteh.
