I visited each of these locations in the spring. First up, let's see the grand '30s-era Rutherford, NJ Main Post Office:
Generally speaking, these offices lie in a line, and are about a mile apart from each other.
1. Rutherford, NJ: Wood-Ridge Branch post office:
Can't believe this wouldn't make enough revenue to make keeping this around worthwhile.
2. Rutherford, NJ: Carlstadt Branch post office:
It doesn't look like much (something like a converted fire house?), but there were customers in there when I came knockin'.
3. Rutherford, NJ: East Rutherford Branch post office:
A distinct community that seemed populated enough to me; closure of this would be odd, even if it's just a mile from the Rutherford main office.
4. Rutherford, NJ: East Rutherford Parcel Post [Carrier] Annex:
This I could see as an obvious candidate for closure, as USPS carriers all across the country have been playing the postal equivalent of musical chairs as a result of centralized operations known as "Delivery Unit Optimization". It's my guess that the carriers, with their "diminished workloads", could be easily shoved into the back of the Rutherford main office, as the postal service has been doing all around the country. I'm sure this facility would bring in some money from some business looking for a warehouse.
It still takes just as long to walk from one house to the next even if each one gets only a single letter. But I suppose with less total volume, they need less room to get ready in the morning, and thus can consolidate some carrier annexes.
ReplyDeleteI believe Parcel Post annexes were first opened before USP and FedEx took over a lot of package delivery. Separating driving parcel delivery routes from walking letter delivery routes, and putting them in a separate building, freed up a lot of space. In at least some cases, putting a retail window in a Parcel Post annex also diverted some pressure from the window at the main office.
Probably all the remaining Parcel Post annexes are now regular carrier annexes now, although a few still have retail service, as well.
True -- an example of one now having retail service being another facility on the list, the Englewood Parcel Post Annex.
ReplyDeleteThe patrons of the Rutherford Post Office plocated at 156 Park Ave in Rutherford, NJ 07070, are extremely saddened and shocked by the neglect, deterioration and disrepair of our essential post office. The Rutherford Post Office is the last of five previous postal stations historically located around our community. Along with the adjacent WWI Monument and Rutherford Public Library, this unique post office was designed in 1936 by renowned architect Edgar Irving Williams, FAIA, himself a life- long Rutherfordian. These three structures anchor the borough’s Civic Center and profoundly reflect on the community’s pride and spirit.
ReplyDeleteThe main Rutherford Post Office serves six NJ branch locations Wood Ridge, Carlstadt, East Rutherford, East Rutherford Parcel Post Annex, Lyndhurst and Wallington. On March 3rd, 1988 the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office opined that the Rutherford Post Office (ID# 2965) was eligible to be nominated for inclusion on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.
We urge the United States Postal Service and the government of the United States to immediately remediate the hazardous life safety issues, to establish funding and begin the rehabilitation, restoration and preservation of this irreplaceable asset to the South Bergen region.