REMINDER: Potential SE Sector USPS Closure - Community Meetings

Many of us in the affected areas have received surveys about the closures.  Please do your part and fill them out.  The Postal Service public meetings to discuss the possible closure of Post Offices in your District have been set as follows:

Visitacion PO    Wednesday, September 28, 2011 @ 5PM (Visitacion Valley School, 450 Raymond Avenue)

Bayview PO      Thursday, September 29, 2011 @ 5PM (SF Processing & Distribution Center Cafeteria, 1300 Evans Ave.)

On Thursday, consumer advocate and former Presidential candidate Ralph Nader called the U.S. Postal Service's financial problems a manufactured crisis, and called on Congress to take quick, easy action to prevent further service cuts, Post Office closings, and job cuts.

In a letter to Senator Joseph Lieberman and Congressman Darrell Issa, Mr. Nader proposed simple solutions to fix the U.S. Postal Service's financial hole. Mr. Nader noted, however, that the financial "crisis" facing the USPS was completely manufactured.

REMINDER: Potential SE Sector USPS Closure - Community Meeting

Many of us in the affected areas have received surveys about the closures.  Please do your part and fill them out.  The Postal Service public meetings to discuss the possible closure of Post Offices in your District have been set as follows:

McLaren PO     Tuesday, September 20, 2011 @ 5PM (Visitacion Valley School, 450 Raymond Avenue)

Parking for Visitacion Valley School should be available on Visitacion Street.

Potential SE Sector USPS Closures - Community Meetings

While the 5PM meeting time is rather heartless for those who have day jobs, thanks still go to Emily Salgado in Senator Yee's office for providing the following information.  She notes that no notices will be provided to residents via the mail - only in on-site post office boxes and signage at affected post offices.  The reasoning being that if you don't see a notice, then you're probably not going to the post office to begin with, and closure won't affect you.  Slick.

The Postal Service public meetings to discuss the possible closure of Post Offices in your District have been set as follows:

McLaren PO     Tuesday, September 20, 2011 @ 5PM (Visitacion Valley School, 450 Raymond Avenue)
Visitacion PO    Wednesday, September 28, 2011 @ 5PM (Visitacion Valley School, 450 Raymond Avenue)
Bayview PO      Thursday, September 29, 2011 @ 5PM (SF Processing & Distribution Center Cafeteria, 1300 Evans Ave.)

Parking for Visitacion Valley School should be available on Visitacion Street.

h/t E Salgado, Office of Senator L Yee.

TOMORROW: Federal Building Post Office Town Hall

The U.S. Postal service is considering several post offices in San Francisco for possible closure. The locations that are under review include the Phillip Burton Federal Building station, the Visitacion Valley station, the Bayview-Hunters Point station, the McLaren station and the Civic Center post box unit. On Wednesday, September 7, 2011, a postal representative will be at the Phillip Burton Federal Building and Courthouse, 450 Golden Gate Ave, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. to answer questions, discuss alternatives and provide information about potential changes to the building’s postal operations.

h/t J Morri & C Ortiz

Senator Yee responds to Potential SE Sector USPS Closures

Many people have expressed concerns regarding the potential closures of three Southeast sector USPS offices – Visitacion Valley, Bayview-Hunters Point and McLaren.  On Monday, August 9 Senator Leland Yee issued the following statement to Sylvia Siu, Post Office Review Coordinator for the San Francisco District:
Dear Mrs. Siu:

I am writing to urge you to reconsider the potential closures of United Stated Postal Offices (USPS) in the Southeast communities of San Francisco that are vital to the existing and growing population residing there.

The communities most affected by these closures are historically some of the most underserved and underrepresented in San Francisco. As a longtime representative of San Francisco, I have and will continue to advocate for services like those provided by the USPS in these neighborhoods.

In recent years, residents of the Southeast sector have been working to preserve and adapt to changing populations and needs during a down economy. Communities affected by closures of the Visitacion Valley, McLaren and Bayview-Hunters Point USPS offices are largely comprised of low-to-moderate income families, immigrants and aging, longtime residents, many of whom do not own vehicles. Simply put, these communities need, use and benefit from the proximity of postal services currently available and as these areas are slated to significantly increase in population over the next decade the need will become exponentially greater.

For these reasons, I strongly urge you to reconsider the potential closures of USPS offices in the Southeast communities of San Francisco. Please do not hesitate to contact me at (415) 557-7857.

Sincerely,
Leland Y. Yee, Ph.D.
California State Senate

There will likely be public meetings to discuss the closures, so stay on the lookout for those.

Bay Area post offices on hit list for closures

My coworker, from South San Francisco, was saying just yesterday that not only was her local post office closed down, it was torn down!  She had put her mail on hold while on vacation, and when she wanted to go and collect the held mail, even the USPS couldn't tell her where it was!

From SFGate

Thirteen post offices in the Bay Area, including five in San Francisco, are in danger of being closed as the financially battered U.S. Postal Service reconsiders the status of thousands of its outlets nationwide.

The Postal Service said Tuesday that it was looking into closing or downgrading 3,653 branches across the country starting later this year, citing a drop in mail volume and increasing availability of postal products elsewhere.

The offices in San Francisco that could close are the Bayview-Hunters Point station, the McLaren station, the Visitacion Valley station, the Civic Center post office box unit and the station in the Federal Building on Golden Gate Avenue.

Read more at SFGate