Manhattan Is No Place for Bronx Mail, Group Says

Members of a large Bronx community group are outraged that the U.S. Postal Service could start processing Bronx-bound mail in Manhattan soon, a move they say would cause one- or two-day delays for important pieces of mail such as medical prescriptions and Social Security checks.

The Coalition to Save Our Post Offices, a community group made up of postal workers, elected officials, and community activists in the Bronx, says the Postal Service has imminent plans to shut down the processing facility for inbound Bronx mail on East 149th Street and Grand Concourse, and will start processing the mail at the Morgan Mail Processing Facility on 34th Street in Manhattan.

A decision about consolidating the Bronx and Manhattan facilities that process first-class mail has not yet been made, a spokeswoman for the Postal Service, Pat McGovern, said. But the president of the New York Metro Postal Union, Clarice Torrence, said consolidation is a done deal. "Sources in upper management at the Postal Service who are against consolidation have told us that they will start the process in April or May," she said.

A federal law passed December 20, in the waning days of the 109th Congress, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, could affect the consolidation in two ways. The law enables the Postal Service to cut costs, which could make consolidation easier, but requires that it work closely with the affected communities in the decision-making process. The Postal Service has yet to speak with members of Coalition to Save Our Post Offices on the issue, Ms. Torrence said.

Rep. Jose Serrano, Democrat of New York, who supports the community coalition, said he intends to ensure that the Postal Service takes the community's issues into account. "I will be monitoring their adherence to this process," he said.

Mr. Serrano is the chairman of the House subcommittee that appropriates federal funds for the Postal Service, and could wield clout over the service's decisionmaking process in the Bronx.

The Postal Service began to study the possibility of consolidation in December 2005 as part of it initiative to cut costs and improve efficiency, according to Ms. McGovern.