Bronx Electeds Pen Letter to Postmaster General Urging Immediate Action on Missing Postal Boxes
Congressman Eliot Engel, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., State Senators Jeff Klein and Jamaal Bailey, Assembly Members Michael Benedetto and Jeffrey Dinowitz, and City Council Members Andrew Cohen and Andy King penned a letter to current United States Postmaster General Megan Brennan calling on her office to look into the ongoing issues in the borough regarding missing postal boxes, and for mobile collection units to be dispatched in affected areas until the new boxes are in place.
In an effort to combat fishing—the act of stealing people’s private mail from postal boxes—the Bronx Post Office began removing postal boxes throughout the borough in late November in order to replace them with new boxes that cannot be fished. But most of the postal boxes removed have still not been replaced several months later, and the Bronx Post Office has yet to offer a timeline for replacement or any temporary measures to help senior or disabled residents living in apartments who rely on those mail boxes to send their correspondences or pay their bills.
Full text of the letter to Postmaster Brennan can be found below:
January 26, 2017
Megan J. Brennan
Postmaster General of the United States
475 L'Enfant Plaza
Washington, DC 20260
Dear Postmaster General Brennan:
We are writing to request your office’s assistance in resolving an ongoing postal issue affecting our constituents in the Bronx, New York. Since late November, the Bronx Post Office has been removing mailboxes all throughout the borough in order to replace them with new boxes that will prevent mail fishing. We appreciate the post office’s concern with the safety of our constituent’s mail and are pleased to see them taking a proactive approach to combatting this issue. However, most of the mailboxes that have been removed still have not been replaced, and the Bronx Post Office has either been incapable or unwilling to give us a timeline as to when these new mailboxes will be installed.
We represent a large constituency of people who are elderly and living in apartment buildings that are not easily accessible to our local post office branches. These people rely on the mailboxes on their block to pay their bills and send their correspondences. After more than 2 months of these mailboxes missing, we find it completely unacceptable that the Bronx Post Office still has not replaced them and cannot give us an answer as to when, if ever, they will all be replaced.
We would appreciate it if your office would look into this matter immediately and provide any possible assistance to help resolve the problem. The USPS should also consider dispatching mobile collection units in the affected communities as a temporary measure. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Eliot L. Engel - Member of Congress
Jeffrey Dinowitz - Member of Assembly
Ruben Diaz Jr. - Bronx Borough President
Jeffrey Klein - New York State Senator
Andrew Cohen - Council Member
Jamaal Bailey - New York State Senator
Michael Benedetto - Member of Assembly
Andy King - Council Member
Megan J. Brennan
Postmaster General of the United States
475 L'Enfant Plaza
Washington, DC 20260
Dear Postmaster General Brennan:
We are writing to request your office’s assistance in resolving an ongoing postal issue affecting our constituents in the Bronx, New York. Since late November, the Bronx Post Office has been removing mailboxes all throughout the borough in order to replace them with new boxes that will prevent mail fishing. We appreciate the post office’s concern with the safety of our constituent’s mail and are pleased to see them taking a proactive approach to combatting this issue. However, most of the mailboxes that have been removed still have not been replaced, and the Bronx Post Office has either been incapable or unwilling to give us a timeline as to when these new mailboxes will be installed.
We represent a large constituency of people who are elderly and living in apartment buildings that are not easily accessible to our local post office branches. These people rely on the mailboxes on their block to pay their bills and send their correspondences. After more than 2 months of these mailboxes missing, we find it completely unacceptable that the Bronx Post Office still has not replaced them and cannot give us an answer as to when, if ever, they will all be replaced.
We would appreciate it if your office would look into this matter immediately and provide any possible assistance to help resolve the problem. The USPS should also consider dispatching mobile collection units in the affected communities as a temporary measure. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Eliot L. Engel - Member of Congress
Jeffrey Dinowitz - Member of Assembly
Ruben Diaz Jr. - Bronx Borough President
Jeffrey Klein - New York State Senator
Andrew Cohen - Council Member
Jamaal Bailey - New York State Senator
Michael Benedetto - Member of Assembly
Andy King - Council Member
