Congressman Eliot Engel, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., State Senator Jeff Klein, and Council Member Andrew Cohen were among 8 Bronx lawmakers to pen 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. The letter was also signed by State Senator Jamaal Bailey, Assembly Member Michael Benedetto, and City Council Member Andy King. 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
