Its seems that the proposed plan to close Park Slope's Post Office on Seventh Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets is part of a much larger plan by the US Postal service to close many post offices around the country. Thanks to Eliot Wagner, OTBKB's music columnist, I have this article from Linn's Stamp News dated July 27, 2009:
By Bill McAllister
Washington Correspondent
Declaring
that its post offices are "not intended to operate as monuments to a
bygone era of postal customer interaction," the United States Postal
Service has petitioned for a review of its plans to shrink the number
of its retail outlets.
In a petition files July 2 with the
Postal Regulatory Commission, Postal Service officials raised the
possibility that it might close so many post offices that the changes
may constitute a national change in the availability of postal services.
If the changes are judged to be that, the commission must give its blessing to before they can be implemented.
The
eight page petition said officials don't know yet how many of the
nation's 27,200 post offices and 4,800 branch stations are likely to be
closed or consolidated under the proposed plan.
But they said declining mail volume cannot justify retaining all of the current retail outlets.
According
to the petition, newer forms of stamp sales, including the internet and
consignment of stamps to merchants and automated postal centers, are
growing, reducing the need for post offices. These new services
account for 30 percent of retail revenues and are trending upward.
The
petition states: "In many cases, the justification for the
establishment of a station or a branch at a particular location 20 or
40 years ago no longer exists."
The planned station and branch
optimization initiative assumes "that excess retail capacity can be
identified and reduced." It warns that some customers could be
inconvenienced by the changes, but it argues that the USPS will
continue to provide mandated postal services to all parts of the
country after the closings.
A Postal Service spokesman said that
officials in the 74 administrative districts are expected to review the
number of retail outlets they currently have and come up with a
cost-cutting plan to reduce the number.
The changes are not likely to be implemented until Oct. 2, the start of the new fiscal year for the Postal Service.
The
petition requests that the commission issue an advisory opinion stating
that the changes will keep the public properly serviced with adequate
retail outlets as required by federal laws.