Mail woes affect Shelter Islanders: Calls for home delivery

Do you have an extra half hour or more to wait in a line at a Shelter Island Post Office to pick up a package? Have you experienced going to your local Post Office to get your package only to be told it’s at the other Island Post Office, forcing you to stand in another line to get your package?

Islander Gordon Cantley calls long waits at Post Offices to get packages “a waste of time.”

It may not bother people who get only an occasional package, but for business owners whose packages are often sent through the United States Postal Service, it becomes an almost every day occurrence to have to wait in long lines.

“I feel like everyone in the Post Office I usually see waiting in line has the same feelings of the situation. I just feel like there is inadequate help at the Post Office to have to dole out everyone’s package in a timely manner,” Mr. Cantley said.

Packages must be picked up during business hours, which makes it difficult for those who have to interrupt their work to retrieve their packages, some of which are time sensitive, he said.

“I also feel like it is dependent on the driver,” Mr. Cantley added, noting he sometimes gets packages shipped to his shop, while other times they go directly to the Post Office.

The Reporter spoke to a woman who called the Post Office about a package and was told it was there, but she was off-Island and couldn’t make it to pick up the package by the 1 p.m. Saturday closing. She said she would pick it up on Monday, but was told it was going to be sent back if it wasn’t picked up by closing that Saturday.

These and other complaints are what several Islanders have reported, prompting them to ask for Rural Free Delivery of their mail and packages to their homes.

The complaints have been shared by the Reporter with Strategic Communications Specialist for the United States Postal Service Amy Gibbs. Her emailed response was that Islanders could petition for Rural Free Delivery to their homes, but there are no plans to offer home deliveries on the Island.

“We will review any customer requests, but there are currently no plans to eliminate the free P.O. Box service customers now receive, which is made available to them because they do not receive home delivery,” she said. “Customers can request a change of mode of delivery by submitting Postal Form 4027 to the local Postmaster.”

Former Councilman Peter Reich, who has had a Post Office Box in the Heights for decades, said he and others plan to do exactly that, but are concerned that the request might not reach decision makers, and he will send copies to the Postmaster General.

Lack of home delivery has resulted in Island residents’ inability to order cellphones and have them mailed to their PO Boxes. That’s not the fault of the Post Office, but companies that supply phones by mail unwilling to send them to a Post Office Box. What’s the remedy? Currently, they either have to go off-Island to purchase their cellphones in person or have them sent to a relative or friend who lives off-Island who can then repackage them and mail them to the intended recipient, Mr. Reich said.

A number of other Islanders reported similar frustrations with lack of home delivery and said they endorse petitioning for Rural Free Delivery.

They talk about their frustrations, but said they hesitate to have their names published, fearing their mail service will get worse.

This is not the first time residents have complained about problems in getting their mail. Back in 2013, the Reporter recounted numerous problems residents cited about mail not received, including notices affecting insurance policies, difficulty in receiving mail order medications and other packages.

A USPS official met with residents and promised to assist, but there was only a short-term improvement, they said.

Years earlier, bags of mail were discovered dumped at the town Recycling Center.

Compounding the situation are companies purchasing mail lists from one another, so if one company gets an address wrong, many others do as well. Islanders trying to place orders with some companies have been told they live in East Hampton, as though the separate town of Shelter Island doesn’t exist.

Raising the current issues, Mr. Reich said he and others will campaign to bring other disgruntled customers to the forefront to file petitions for Rural Free Delivery.