In a letter sent to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Monday, New York State Senators Michelle Hinchey and Rob Rolison are calling for the reversal of sweeping operational changes proposed to be implemented in September that would result in the consolidation of mail sorting centers in the Hudson Valley and, they believe, threaten post office closures, diminished customer services for families, widespread mail delays and increased safety issues for the postal workforce.
Under the first phase of the plan, scheduled to take effect on September 9, sorting and carrier operations at 10 Mid Hudson post offices would be shifted to the General Mail Facility (GMF) at 97 Enterprise Drive in the Town of Newburgh, one of the newly-created sorting and delivery centers (S&DC) in the 10-year “Delivering for America” plan of Postmaster Louis DeJoy. Affected offices would be Newburgh, Cornwall, Cornwall on Hudson, Clintondale, Maybrook, Modena, Salisbury Mills, Rock Tavern, Wallkill and Beacon. Later, in February 2024, sorting would be shifted away from Walden, Montgomery and Fishkill. Letter carriers from those facilities would report to the GMF to pick up the mail they would be delivering on their daily route. Postal officials have insisted that other services would still be available at local post offices, including mailing of packages, box rentals and the purchasing of stamps and other postal products.
The two senators, in a letter to DeJoy and copies to U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, expressed their concern about the proposed changes.
“First, we respectfully challenge the lack of transparency referencing the ‘savings’ this plan claims. With fewer facilities and less staff, rural families will suffer. Longer lines at remaining post offices, overworked staff, and people who will need to travel farther for services is a burden that our residents, especially seniors, should not bear. We believe a study must be done first to determine what, if any, savings will occur and what services would be lost as a result,” the senators wrote in their letter
“Second, these proposed changes do not take into account that some carriers will have to transport mail over 100 miles using the NYS Thruway or Interstate 84.
Additionally, there is a potential to lose personnel responsible for sorting rural routes. These proposed changes will negatively affect our districts and thousands of people across the Hudson Valley both directly and indirectly.”
“Postmaster DeJoy’s plan would have dramatic consequences for accessibility, service reliability and the postal environment generally,” Rolison said. “Our seniors and those in smaller municipalities rely on their local post offices. Consolidating them without adequate community input and absent a comprehensive study outlining the potential alternatives to closure is simply unacceptable.”
“Delivering for America,” according to Newburgh Postmaster Manuel L. Diaz Jr., “will result in an improved working environment for our employees, reduce time and the cost of transportation to facilities and allow postal delivery to be utilized more effectively.”
Diana Cline, President of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Mid Hudson Local #3722, is not so sure.
“APWU Mid Hudson Local would like to thank Senators Hinchey and Rolison for their help in this Post Office change that will adversely affect customer service in our rural communities,” she said.
“The United State Postal Service is one of the most essential public goods we have, and we will not stand by while this vital service is threatened and our Hudson Valley residents and postal workers bear the unacceptable repercussions of a poorly conceived and unnecessarily expedited consolidation plan,” Hinchey said.