Giving no stamp of approval
Irked by P.O. relocate
EAST HARLEM residents are fired up over plans to relocate the neighborhood’s Tito Puente Post Office.
A U.S. Postal Service real estate executive, Joseph Mulvey, outlined the proposal to move the 40-year-old institution during the full meeting of Community Board 11 on Tuesday night.
Those who showed up for the meeting at the Children’s Aid Society on E. 101st St. wasted little time, taking the floor to deliver opinions peppered with adjectives such as “ridiculous” and “stupid” (the latter, issued by a 13-year-old).
“Where would you relocate it?” asked Rory Smith, 26, who was among the most outspoken residents in attendance. If any changes were to be made, Smith said, he would like to see the current location expanded.
“It needs to be bigger,” said Smith, who lives in the Wagner Houses, where residents rely on the Puente location. “What’s the point in moving something?”
Mulvey assured residents there would be “no interruption of services” throughout the process, and said there is not yet a new location for the post office, which was known as the Triborough Station before it was renamed for the Latin jazz musician in 2007.
Also expressing opposition to the changes were several members of the American Postal Workers Union, which represents thousands of clerks, maintenance workers and truck drivers in the city (not mail carriers) including 48 employees at the Tito Puente branch.
They accused the USPS of beginning the transition to the nearby Lincolnton Station, making space there to accommodate the additional carriers even before it has been formalized.
Mulvey denied the charges, saying that the post office — located on E. 124th St. between Lexington and Third Aves. — would not move without a confirmed buyer for the current location.
Under the proposal, the current 18,500-square-foot facility would be relocated to a significantly smaller space. In addition, mail carriers based at Puente, who walk 24 postal routes in the neighborhood, will be transferred to the Lincolnton Station on E. 138th St., which is nearly a mile away.
“I think it’s a great injustice,” said Katie Harris, the president of the Wagner Houses tenants association. “What about the residents?”
USPS spokeswoman Connie Chirichello said residents have 15 days to comment in writing on the proposed relocation.
“Should a decision be made to move forward with the sale of a post office building from the date of the decision there is an appeal period of 30 days,” she added. “Appeals are reviewed and a final decision would be announced sometime after.” Public comments should be sent to: Joseph