Shelter Island mail issues persist :Petition for rural free delivery underway

Short-staffed post offices on Shelter Island are responsible for particularly long lines for patrons trying to retrieve packages, according to Laurel Stengel, a United States Postal Service marketing manager for the Long Island District.

At the root of the problem, according to an email Ms. Stengel sent to town employee Barbara Bloom, is staffing and space for sorting the number of packages that have been coming in to local post offices.

“The plan has been to support the office with additional assistance, which we have been doing as best we can during these challenging times,” Ms. Stengel wrote. “Unfortunately, we cannot hire temporary workers, which is why we have to send employees from other offices when available.”

The Postal Service is “a self supporting agency” that doesn’t receive tax money to sustain operations, she noted.

“In keeping with our mandate to provide universal service to the nation at affordable prices, we must ensure that the method of delivery support the efficient delivery of mail in the most economical way,” Ms. Stengel said.

One Shelter Island postal worker is out on an extended leave and can’t be replaced while that leave exists, since the position is not classified as vacant, Ms. Stengel explained.

“We have to borrow employees from other offices to assist, which is what we have been doing,” she said.

On an effort to bring home delivery to the Island, Ms. Stengel said, “Changing the mode of delivery from post office box to rural delivery service would add to the cost of operations. The Postal Service “is not entertaining such changes at this time.”

A small group of Islanders, who say they are fed up with difficulties getting packages and ordinary mail through the Postal Service, have launched a campaign to seek Rural Free Delivery, which would provide delivery to their Island homes or work places.

They placed an advertisement in last week’s Reporter, inviting others to join the petition effort to try to bring about home delivery.

As of Monday, 23 people have signed the petition.

In the past, Islanders queried about whether they would prefer home delivery to their daily visits to either of the Island Post Offices have been practically unanimous about keeping the current system. It was more than an errand to retrieve daily mail and/or packages, but a social event to catch up with friends and neighbors, they said.

Peter Reich, the moving force behind the effort to get home delivery, has continued to be plagued by problems getting packages. He received a notice that a package addressed to him was at the Post Office. His business partner went to the Heights Post Office where Mr. Reich has long had his P.O. Box, and was told the package was at the Center Post Office.

He went there and was told the package had been picked up. By whom? Mr. Reich wonders.

He called the merchant to report the missing package and was told his problem isn’t unusual — that it was something of a “nightmare” trying to send packages with the United States Postal Service to customers with only Post Box numbers instead of home addresses.

Yes, the order could be replaced, but to ensure he could get it, Mr. Reich had to direct the re-order to a friend who lives on the North Fork.

The advertisement advises those interested in changing to Rural Free Delivery to send information bearing their current Post Box numbers and street addresses to [email protected].

USPS Strategic Community Specialist Amy Gibbs said petitions would be reviewed, although she echoed Ms. Stengel’s comment that there are no plans to offer home deliveries on the Island.

Local postmasters are not allowed to speak to the press, according to the postmaster at the Center office. She said all communication has to go through the USPS communications specialist for the area. Mr. Reich said anyone interested in trying to get home delivery of mail should send their name and physical house address to [email protected].