To 43rd Assembly District Democratic Leader Geoffrey Davis the recent surge of support from Brooklyn Congressmembers including U.S. Reps. Yvette Clarke, Hakeem Jeffries, Nydia Velazquez and Jerrold Nadler to improve the borough’s local branches of the United States Postal Service (USPS) is like the calvary coming to the rescue.
Davis has long been on a mission, along with the neighborhood residents of Prospect Lefferts Gardens, to improve decaying services of the James E. Davis Post Office, 315 Empire Boulevard, which is named for his late brother and former City Councilman James E.Davis.
Resident complaints about the branch include the gate always being down making it seem like the branch was closed, and mail being delivered to the wrong addresses and sometimes not being delivered at all.
Last November, Davis along with Community Board 9 Chair Musa Moore held a town hall on the issue at PS 61 on Empire Boulevard and New York Avenue, in which Clarke was invited to attend, but neither her or a representative from her office showed up.
Davis said while a USPS regional community liaison did show up and he has been making inroads on improving the service at the post office, it is under federal jurisdiction, and as such, congressional support is always welcome.
“This issue is building momentum and we’re glad that Congress member Clarke and the other Congress members are now involved,” said Davis. “While we are happy for their involvement, it is important that we their constituents are not excluded from the Congressional campaign to improve customer service at the USPS.”
Davis comments come on the heels of Clarke taking the lead on a letter she wrote to the Postmaster General calling on the USPS to provide a detailed course of action to mitigate the multitude of ongoing postal issues facing several communities across the city.
Also signing on to the letter were Congress members from around the city including Velazquez, Jeffries and Jerrold Nadler – all of whom represent all or part of Brooklyn, as well as U.S. Reps Joe Crowley, Eliot L. Engel, Adriano Espaillat, Carolyn B. Maloney, Gregory W. Meeks, Grace Meng, and José E. Serrano.
“It has come to our attention that our constituents in New York City continue to experience significant problems with the mail delivery services rendered by the United States Postal Service (USPS). Delivery methods have not proved a dependable means of communication for our residents and the small businesses that rely on this service. As part of our duty to ensure that our constituents are attended to and that their needs are met, we write to express our deep concerns over the fragmentation of this important public service,” the federal lawmakers wrote.
“The people of New York City expect the USPS to meet their postal service needs, and as Members of Congress, we share that expectation. We look forward to your response detailing a course of action to mitigate the multitude of delivery issues in Brooklyn.”
