Residents: Where’s the mail?

People going days with no deliveries, but USPS says all routes covered

Residents frequented the post office this week with one question: Where is their mail?

Locals said they haven’t received mail in days, but the U.S. Postal Service told the Times Union its letter carriers are out delivering mail on all routes.

Yet, Holli Riviezzo said she hasn’t received any mail this week. The last time a letter arrived was Saturday. The week before, mail only came on three days despite electronic alerts each day for mail that was supposed to arrive, she explained.

“It seems odd to not get mail for days on end,” she said.

Riviezzo is registered to receive daily notifications about when her mail will be delivered. The alerts tell her what letters to expect that day with photos of them attached to the message. She said the notifications were spot-on in the past, but lately they haven’t been so reliable.

She continues to receive email notifications, but the mail either never arrives or letters, different from what the email shows, are delivered instead.

Riviezzo isn’t alone. Many Niskayuna residents have experienced significantly delayed mail deliveries in the last couple of weeks. Riviezzo grew concerned this week when certain bills didn’t arrive and went to the post office to get to the bottom of things on Wednesday. Upon walking in, she found several of her neighbors inside the post office inquiring about the mail, too.

And they were all told similar things by the postal workers. The office didn’t have enough letter carriers to cover the routes because some had coronavirus and others were injured slipping on ice.

When Niskayuna resident Helen Harrison’s son called to find out why his parents weren’t getting mail, he was told the same.

The office supervisor was able to give Riviezzo three pieces of her mail but couldn’t find the rest. She said they told her it was likely out for delivery already. Still, nothing came that day.

“I don’t think they know what to say. It’s not at the office and not out for delivery,” Riviezzo said. “We have no

idea where our mail is.” Riviezzo filed a complaint with the USPS. She received a generic email in return telling her the agency would look into it. She hasn’t heard back yet.

When asked about the missing mail and lack of deliveries, a USPS spokesperson told the Times Union last week employees were on every route making deliveries, which contrasts with what local postal workers have told residents and the steady stream of residents who have gone to the post office to retrieve missing mail.

On Friday, a different spokesman, Mark Lawrence, said the postal service was taking a number of steps, including authorizing overtime to “allow employees to work the time necessary to deliver mail,” expanding hours of delivery, adjusting routes to ensure delivery, and using carriers from nearby offices to help with local delivery.

“We’re thankful for the incredible flexibility our workforce has shown throughout the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to present unprecedented challenges and occasionally impacts employee availability in some locations,” he said, adding the agency appreciates the “understanding and continued support” of its customers.

But if those changes were leading to improvements, it was not readily apparent to residents.

Riviezzo, like others in town, is used to mail showing up at sporadic times and from the hands of different carriers. But she wonders why mail carriers are able to bring her Amazon packages on time, though not her letters.

Harrison said the mail is “up and down” in the neighborhood. She feels “sorry” for letter carriers who are weathering the snow and everything else to get people their mail. Knowing she and her husband get a “good amount” of mail that hasn’t come makes her worry catching up might strain letter carriers.

“The poor guy won’t be able to carry the mail for everybody,” she said. “People are doing their job in the cold weather and we appreciate it.”