Government

Mail dumped in the past by PO

REPORTER FILE PHOTO | Today’s ZIP code confusion causing problems for many Islanders might pale in comparison to what was going on 20 years ago.

Serious problems with mail aren’t new to Islanders.

The Reporter uncovered a story back in August 1993 about stacks of mail being found discarded in the paper recycling bin at the town’s recycling center. A lot of it was from the Department of Social Services, and Jimmy Payne, who found the mail, saw one letter addressed to him. He recovered it and found it was a notice of changes to his benefits, he told the Reporter at the time. The envelope, like many of the others he found, bore the imprint “important information,” Mr. Payne said.

Other letters were recall notices from the Ford Motor Company to vehicle owners.

Mr. Payne delivered the mail to those people he knew well and took the rest to the Police Department. Then police Chief George Ferrer said there were “tons” of mail Mr. Payne had recovered.

Estelle Simes was postmaster at the Center Post Office and characterized the letters as third class mail that lacked post office box numbers, making the letters undeliverable. A representative at the Postal Inspector’s Office confirmed that dumping such mail was a routine practice at the time. Ms. Simes said she wasn’t delivering third class mail that was mis-addressed unless it appeared to be important.

She cited the Domestic Mail Manual that stated non delivery of mail could result from a number of factors, including use of an incomplete or incorrect address.

“Bad mail breeds bad mail,” Ms. Simes is quoted as saying.

But she said she had written to offending companies asking that they update their mailing lists.

Mr. Payne disagreed with Ms. Simes’ characterization of  the letters he found as all “third class mail.” He said it was both second and third class mail and that many envelopes had post office box numbers. There were also stacks of mail that appeared not to have been sorted, Mr. Payne said.

“I always thought the Post Office goes to great lengths to see that the mail is delivered through snow, sleet, hail and all that,” Mr. Payne said.

The Reporter awaits word from Congressman Tim Bishop’s office for a date for a rescheduled public meeting after Easter with a United States Postal Service official to try to resolve current problems that largely seem to stem from confusion about Shelter Island ZIP codes that don’t necessarily match up with local street addresses.