Copyright 2000 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday (New York, NY)
November 17, 2000, Friday QUEENS EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Page A44
LENGTH: 625 words
HEADLINE:
QUEENS ACTIVISTS SEEK POSTAL REFORM
BYLINE: By Merle English. STAFF WRITER
BODY:
Frustrated with long lines at many post
offices and fearing a gridlock of patrons before the holidays, residents in
several Queens communities have formed a coalition to press for improvements.
The 113 ZIP Code Task Force, named for the ZIP codes beginning with
those numbers in Bayside, Flushing, Forest Hills, Jackson Heights, Whitestone,
among others, will monitor post offices and compile complaints for local postal
authorities.
"There's a lot of frustration, and there are no supervisors
and no oversight," said Joyce Shepard, president of Citizens Action Committee
for Change, a Bayside-based group that formed the coalition.
Flushing
Postmaster William Rogers, who oversees post offices in the 113 Zip Code areas,
and representatives of some community boards are expected to join coalition
members at a meeting Shephard's group has scheduled for Nov. 28 in Bayside.
"Rates are going up just before Christmas while service is going down,"
said Shepard, referring to the proposed one-cent hike in the cost of first-class
stamps. "We get mail when it rains and snows, but we don't get service when a
line grows inside the post office."
Shephard, a candidate for the City
Council, said she became frustrated after waiting in line behind 40 people
during lunch hour Monday at the Bay Terrace post office. Only two windows were
staffed, she said, "but there were people in the back sitting with their legs up
on desks." She said she asked for a supervisor and was told there was none.
"This has been going on for 15 years," Shepard said.
The Whitestone post
office "was just as bad," she said. "This is a problem across the city."
She said Rogers agreed there was a problem. He did not return calls for
comment. Sharon McLawhorn, a spokeswoman, said Rogers will attend the meeting.
She said the postmaster promised to dedicate a hotline for complaints.
The problems will get worse, because the postal service is expected to
lose money next year, according to Dana Johnson, deputy chief of staff to Rep.
John McHugh, an upstate Republican who chairs the House Subcommittee on Postal
Service that has oversight for the U.S. Postal Service.
Johnson said the
mail stream is shrinking because of competition from faxes, e-mail and the
Internet, so some post offices may close.
"Rates are going to go through
the roof," she said. "Instead of better service, people will get less service.
They won't get six days of delivery."
A bill McHugh championed for six
years, which Johnson said would provide new rules and structures to help the
postal service maintain the level of service people expect, was killed in
committee by lobbyists for some of the postal service's competitors, she said.
Congressman Major Owens (D-Brooklyn) who represents New York on the
Subcommittee, said McHugh "is mainly concerned about privatization," and that
his bill wouldn't meet consumers needs.
"Nothing is going to happen in
the short range to improve our services," Owens said. One answer, he said, was
to "make an alliance with the postal unions" and fight for more clerks at the
windows and better service.
Tom Gaynor, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal
Service, acknowledged that there are problems. "We're fighting budget
constraints, but we're addressing operations to come up with ways to improve
service and cut costs," he said. "We're committed to improving service. I'm sure
Mr. Rogers is going to work with the community groups."
Shepard said
residents with post-office complaints who live in Auburndale, Corona, Glendale,
College Point and the other areas with ZIP codes beginning with 113 should call
her organization at 718-279-2069.
LOAD-DATE: November 17, 2000
