Washington,
D.C. –
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Dan Maffei today called on the
U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to consider local impacts, including pedestrian
access and neighborhood benefits, when evaluating a consolidation plan that
affects post offices in Central New York. The USPS is considering closing two
post offices in the Syracuse area – the Elmwood Post Office on South Avenue in
Syracuse, and the North Main Street Post Office in North Syracuse.
Senator
Gillibrand and Congressman Maffei raised concerns that the plan to close these
branches could have potentially harmful economic and environmental
consequences. Both facilities are in heavily traversed areas where many patrons
walk to and from their post office, providing access to citizens in surrounding
low-income and elderly communities. The office in North Syracuse has been a part
of the community for more than 100 years. Both postal facilities also make a
profit, with the North Syracuse facility making more than $300,000 and the
Elmwood office making more than $130,000 this year.
Senator
Gillibrand said, “It is unacceptable for the USPS to close two critical post offices in
Central New York, which are vital to the local neighborhoods. If the point of
consolidation is to save money, then why is the USPS considering closing two
postal facilities which actually make a profit. Closing these post offices
could have harmful economic and environmental consequences on our communities.”
Congressman
Maffei said, “I’m please to join forces with Senator Gillibrand to fight to keep our
local post offices open. This is an extremely important issue for our
community- that is why I’ve been working on this for months and will continue
to pursue all possible opportunities to keep our Elmwood and North Syracuse
post offices open for business.”
Syracuse
Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll said, “The Elmwood post office is a strategically
located lifeline for many residents on the Southside. Losing mailing,
delivery and financial services such as stamps, post office boxes and money
orders would create a hardship for residents in this area.”
Village
of North Syracuse Mayor John Heindorf said, “The Post Office in the
Village of North Syracuse has been in operation since 1887 and serves not only
the 7,000 residents in the village, but an additional 14,000 residents outside
the confines of the village that reside in the same 13212 zip code. All of
these people and businesses have depended heavily on the North Syracuse Post
Office throughout the years. Closing this post office would be a severe blow
for everyone.
In
their letter to John E. Potter, Postmaster General and Chief Executive Office
of the USPS, Senator Gillibrand and Congressman Maffei wrote, “Closing these
branches will not only lead to less patrons using the services of the United
States Postal Service (USPS), but would have potentially harmful consequences
from both an economic and environmental standpoint on our communities. As the
USPS explores ways to trim costs by consolidating branches, it would be
impractical to consider these offices as they both make a profit. … We appreciate
the need for the postal service to re-evaluate programs in light of the current
economy. However, we believe there are ways to cut costs without reducing
or denying service to our constituents.”
The USPS held public hearings on Nov. 6
concerning the possible closures. Maureen Marion, a local representative for
the Postal Service, told the Syracuse Post-Standard that the decision
likely will not be made until 2010. According to the Post-Standard, residents in North Syracuse and Syracuse have collected more than 2,400
signatures on petitions to keep the post offices open.