Ten Post Offices in Manhattan and the Bronx Saved — Union Vows to Fight to Save Remaining Stations

NY Metro APWU President Clarice Torrence at a rally to save NYC post offices
(Photo: Sean Sweeney)

NEW YORK — The United States Postal Service has announced that it has removed ten post office stations in Manhattan and the Bronx from its list of stations and branches “under review for consolidation.”

This announcement follows months of pressure from the community, the New York Metro Postal Union — part of the American Postal Workers Union — and elected officials to keep stations open. The post offices that have been saved from closing include six in Manhattan: Cherokee, College, Pitt, Port Authority, Port Authority Convenience Center and West Village; and four in the Bronx: Botanical, Clason Point, Hillside and Melcourt.

“This is a great victory for ten neighborhoods in New York City. They will keep their neighborhood post offices,” said Clarice Torrence, President of the NY Metro AWPU.

“It shows what can be accomplished when communities, unions and elected officials work together to defend a common good. I’m particularly happy for the senior citizens, the disabled people, the small business owners and the low-income people who are most dependent upon the existence of a neighborhood post office. While this is a great victory, we cannot forget the people in the remaining four communities whose neighborhood post office remain on the list,” Torrence said.

Three stations in the Bronx — Crotona Park, Oak Point and Van Nest — and one in Manhattan — Tudor City Place — are still on the list post offices that may be closed.

Clarice Torrence testifying at a Postal Regulatory Commission hearing on the proposed closures (Fordham University, Bronx)
(Photo: Andrew Hinderacker)

Torrence said, “You cannot tell me that the people in these four communities need their neighborhood post offices any less than the other ten communities whose post offices will not be closed.”

Each of the post offices in Manhattan and the Bronx has been a moneymaker for the Postal Service in addition to being a vital part of its community.

Plans are underway to fight to defend the remaining four stations on the list from being shut down.

Two facilities in Queens — LaGuardia Airport and the Parcel Post Annex in Long Island City — are also being considered for closure.