AMBROSE CLANCY PHOTO | Congressman Tim Bishop has set up a special email address ahead of a public meeting —SIPostOfficeIssues@mail.house.gov — to allow Islanders to weigh in on mail delivery difficulties.

Shelter Islanders can now voice their concerns on the federal level about mail problems here.

A day after Congressman Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) called for a public meeting on Shelter Island next month to discuss ZIP code confusion with residents, representatives from his office plus town and United States Postal Service officials, the congressman’s office provided an email address for Islanders to use to make their voices heard.

The email is SIPostOfficeIssues@mail.house.gov.

Those who have had problems getting either packages or first-class mail should describe their experiences to Mr. Bishop via the email address. His office is working with Shelter Island Councilman Peter Reich to set up the promised March meeting to bring some clarity to the serious problems and to determine solutions.

The email address is “intended to be a tool for residents to directly inform the congressman’s office of their issues with the USPS service on Shelter Island and their suggestions for potential solutions,” Mr. Bishop’s spokesman Oliver Longwell told the Reporter. The correspondence won’t be released publicly, he said.

Bob Fredericks, one of those who early on voiced his difficulties getting some of his first-class mail, thought Mr. Bishop’s getting involved could lead to solutions since “he’ll probably be able to get more of a response than even newspapers or we can get.”

Town Supervisor Jim Dougherty said he thinks the onus lies with private companies whose data bases are incorrect and believes local postal officials do their best to assure that people get their packages and first-class mail.

But there have been several reports that say the problem goes deeper than retailers not delivering packages, but more serious issues such as important first-class mail not being received.

“I’m certainly going to attend and actively participate” in the discussion about how to rectify the situation for Islanders, the supervisor said.

He was aware that residents and businesses had the option of choosing either ZIP code no matter where they lived — which could be part of the problem.

“It’s a complicated thing,” Councilman Paul Shepherd said. “I’m looking forward to getting started.”

A firm date for the March public meeting hasn’t been set, but is likely to be sometime during the week of March 18, according to Mr. Longwell.

Other contact information for Mr, Bishop:

Southampton Office
137 Hampton Road
Southampton, NY 11968
(631) 259-8450
(631) 259-8451 (fax)

Washington Office
306 Cannon H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-3826
(202) 225-3143 (fax)