Hunts Point postal problems continue

Hunts Point postal problems continue
File photo

Community Board 2 is tired of pushing for better postal service for its residents.

Hunts Point residents in zip codes 10459 and 10474 have been frustrated for years with mis-delivered mail and excessive wait times at their local post office, says district manager Rafael Salamanca.

The problems are numerous, said Salamanca.

One board member regularly makes rounds in the neighborhood, delivering mail to the correct address.

The post office at Southern Boulevard and 169th Street can see lines with wait times of several hours.

The location between Hunts Point Avenue and Manida Street sees lack of snow removal, and the pedestrian entrances had been closed for quite some time, requiring customers to walk through the driveway.

“It was totally unsafe,” said Salamanca.

Other issues have included difficulty getting mailing supplies and dismal customer service.

The community has been dealing with this for years, said Salamanca, and has met with the Bronx postmaster every year for the past five years to address the situation, most recently in February.

“It’s the same issues,” he said.

The board has enlisted local elected officials, including Senator Jeff Klein, to put pressure on the post office to respond to concerns.

“For too long, the residents of Hunts Point have had their mail lost, received incorrect mail or suffered long lines and even longer wait times at their local post office on Manida Street,” said Senator Klein. “While steps have been taken to ensure better service for the people of Hunts Point, more needs to be done. I urge the postmaster to address these concerns immediately and to continue to work with the local community to improve service and delivery.”

Those improvements include placing a navigator in the lobby of the Southern Boulevard post office to help direct people, and opening the pedestrian entrances of the Manida Street location.

The number of complaints to the community board have trailed off, said Salamanca, where they previously came every day. But he’s still not satisfied.

Salamanca wants to see service continue to improve and not regress. He feels part of the problem is the high turnover in the position of the Bronx postmaster, since the board has had to plead with a different leader about the same issues each year.

“There needs to be a consistency in leadership,” he said.

He’s worried what little progress has been made will disappear when the current postmaster, Lilliam Rodriguez, is replaced shortly.

Reach Reporter Jaime Williams at 718-260-4591. E-mail her at jwilliams@cnglocal.com.