Astoria Story: Queens Post Office Reopens After Two-Year Absence

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Information cards were mailed to local residents informing them of the Astoria post office's grand re-opening at its new location. Posing in the photo is recently retired Postmaster Michael Menasche, who spearheaded the relocation effort.

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Ah, Astoria. Remember All in the Family? Astoria was the setting for the show. Astoria is a community in Queens with a rich history and about 150,000 residents—about the same size as Eugene, Oregon and Alexandria, Virginia. The community is undergoing rapid redevelopment with an influx of younger residents. Land along the East River is hot these days, and property values throughout many parts of Long Island City and Astoria have been increasing. Hold that thought.

For your reference, here is a map of the area, with convenient markers denoting post offices.



For years the Astoria post office resided at 27-40 21st St.:


Remember that thing about increasing land values? Compare the old post office building to its surroundings. See the taller structures around it? The site's owner preferred to have the site redeveloped instead of renewing the Postal Service's lease, and so the old Astoria post office closed in mid-2012.

Today the new Astoria Station post office held a reopening ribbon-cutting ceremony with local postal officials and U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York's 12th Congressional District. The new post office is located at 30-11 21st Street, three blocks south of its former location.

Here is a photo of the new office:


Inside, the post office maintains the Postal Service's new design standard, which features vibrant blue countertops atop faux wood frames. At the Astoria post office there are two clerk window stations. The P.O. Box area is to the left.



Frank Calabrese, USPS Triboro District Manager told GP that postal officials never considered formally discontinuing the Astoria Station after its suspension in 2012. Speaking at the ceremony, he declared that he was thrilled to inaugurate this new "state-of-the-art facility." After the Astoria Station's closure in 2012, Astoria 20 carrier routes had been based out of Long Island City's main post office, two miles south. Manager of Post Office Operations John Tanna was on-hand and was also glad to see the Astoria Station reopened, noting in conversation that having carriers stationed back in the neighborhood is "much more efficient."

Congresswoman Maloney spoke eloquently about the importance of post offices in their communities. In an interview with local news channel NY1 she stated that "the community absolutely loves its post office. We're going to be here to support it." She praised the new location, saying "it's a beautiful space [in] an important neighborhood." Adding that most New Yorkers "don't drive; we use mass transit or we walk," she declared that the Astoria post office is vital to this quickly growing neighborhood, adding that "reopening this post office is truly a community celebration." Personally, she noted, "It's wonderful to get a piece of mail."

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USPS Triboro District Manager Frank Calebrese and U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney discuss postal matters prior to the ribbon-cutting at the Astoria post office, June 9, 2014.

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All hands on deck at the Astoria post office ribbon-cutting.

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U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney interviews with NY1 after the ribbon-cutting.

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The Congresswoman also noted that the [Queens] Plaza post office was losing its lease in a manner similar to that of the old Astoria Station, vowing to work with the Postal Service and the community to "save the Plaza post office" and relocate its operations. She invited public input regarding leads on a new location.

Also on-hand were Station Manager Eddie Galdamez, who expressed pride in his new domain and attentively assisted customers before they even arrived at the retail window; and recently instated Officer-in-Charge for Long Island City, Scott Farrar.

Interestingly enough, USPS's lease for the new site had been signed for some time and the location was fully functional back in January. Unfortunately, New York City's Department of Transportation held up the formal recommissioning of the post office; you see, with all the (20+) carriers stationed at this location, trucks need to be able to pull up, load and unload mail without double-parking and obstructing a major local thoroughfare. There's no room for parking lots here. In a dense setting such as New York you often need signage to reserve such parking spots for postal vehicles. New York's DOT took more than four months to install the appropriate signage.



Better late than never!

P.S. What's going on at the former post office site now? This:

Only in New York, II: Return of the Post Office in the Bagel Store

It's been two years since Going Postal first introduced you to the southern Queens community of Broad Channel and its attendant Contract Postal Unit at The Bay-Gull Store. It's been a delight to re-visit this operation and witness its evolution over the past couple of years, which is why the Broad Channel CPU receives another write-up today.

A lot has happened in the Broad Channel community and to the post office since then, not the least of which was the advent of Hurricane Sandy. Broad Channel, separated from the Atlantic by the sliver of land that is the Rockaways, features houses that directly overlook channels of Jamaica Bay. Folks here love to fish off their decks. Sadly, this meant heavy damage during Sandy last fall, and you can read about some of the flooding and devastation here and here.

Today the primary thoroughfare of Broad Channel, Cross Bay Boulevard, appears largely improved but is still recovering. Houses have new roofs, and new windows overlook the street. Buildings bear NYC Building Inspection signs. The Deli and Catering store is open for business (though the old Wharton Pharmacy -- site of the old CPU -- remains vacant after nearly three years; someone should open a restaurant in there). Dozens of cars pack the sidewalks toward Howard Beach (north of 'town') as fishermen swarm the bay...



However, signs of what occurred here still appear: some yards are littered and boards cover plenty of doorframes and windows. Plenty of siding still needs to be replaced.



That said, this hand-painted sign at the corner of West 18th Road offers a glimpse into the spirit of this close-knit community.



Entrepreneur Magazine reports that about a third of all businesses in the Rockaways and Broad Channel have still not opened, six months later the hurricane hit. The Bay-Gull Store was fortunate to reopen after six weeks, and has been re-establishing its services ever since. Its recovery mirrors that of the overall Broad Channel community.

Much of Broad Channel was covered with five feet of water during the storm, and Bay-Gull Store owner Pat Williams informed The New York Times that he was "up to his shoulders" as the storm hit, when he raced home to rescue his dog. His store was inundated and he lost nearly everything, from the postal counters to the "biggest freezer, the biggest refrigerator." (Read the full story here.)

After the storm, The Bay-Gull Store served as a community gathering and rallying point. Quote The Times: "The store's porch quickly became a meeting space, its empty cavern a supply distribution center, the surviving pieces of plastic furniture unofficial therapy chairs." Having witnessed the expansion of The Bay-Gull Store over the last two years, I can tell you that Mr. Williams is always looking for new ways to serve his community.

With no insurance, Pat had to rebuild from scratch. This included purchasing a new $17,000 oven [see next paragraph] with which to bake more of his signature cheese bagels, and folks were pleased to witness their return:



(Cheese baygulls come in five varieties: cheese; jalapeño; bacon; ham; and spinach, of which the latter are my favorite. There's nothing quite like 'em. Why? The Times writes the following: "They dress loops of uncooked dough in five cheeses — American, Muenster, Swiss, provolone and Cheddar — and then place them into an antique oven that slowly spins bagel trays without disturbing the melting cheese.")

Below: a stack of the delectable five-cheese cheese; I like to heat them up when I get home to get 'em all nice and gooey.



Of course, the special note here is the fact that Broad Channel will have its CPU back up and running shortly, after a six-month suspension of operations. The counter was destroyed, as were all postal materials -- the postal computer system, boxes, 'postmarking' devices, everything. The new setup will be somewhat different. For this it is be helpful to see some before-and-after scenes at the store.

June 2012:
The Bay-Gull Store; exterior.


In the back: the postal counter alongside a party balloon display.


The CPU counter.


CPU signage outside, behind the ice cream window.


Presently the back of the store, which housed the Broad Channel CPU, the party balloon corner, and a Hallmark card stand, lies empty. The ice cream window is gone and boarded up as well, but will return. Pat intends to move his postal operations to the front of the store, by the food counter.

Pat Williams at the counter in The Bay-Gull Store; May 1, 2013.


(Author's note: Sonic Eagle [USPS logo] signs supplied to CPUs, which have previously read "Contract Unit," seem to have been replaced with signs that say "Authorized Postal Provider".)

Residents, who must either drive four miles to the Howard Beach post office or pay a toll to reach the closer Rockaway Beach facility, have been eagerly anticipating the CPU's reopening. (Broad Channel residents presently receive an E-ZPass credit when crossing their bridge, so their payment is reduced to $1.31 each way. Regardless, wouldn't you prefer not to pay a toll in order to buy stamps or pick up a package?)

Here's one final photo—the store as it presently stands.

Triboro Misses the Mark (but Eventually Hits it Again)

First, some background:

New York City's Triboro postal District is among the nation's smallest in terms of geographic area served as well as number of postal facilities operated. That said, it services five million people, more than three times the population within the vast Dakotas District (which includes North and South Dakota as well as Montana). Within NYC the adjacent New York District takes on Manhattan and the Bronx, while Triboro manages Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.

In 2009, before its nationwide Area Mail Processing initiative, USPS consolidated many operations from the mail processing facilities in Staten Island and Queens into Brooklyn's massive Processing and Distribution Center (the Brooklyn P&DC), home of the Triboro District offices. (Said was previously featured and pictured on this blog.) Previously, nearly all mail from within New York City would be cancelled with a postmark bearing the name of its respective borough. Within Triboro, however, everyone would receive a postmark that reads the following:
TRIBORO NY 112
BKLYN-QNS-STATEN ISL
(It could be worse; the Bronx lost all recognition when mail processing consolidated into New York's Morgan Annex a couple of years ago.)

Mind you, there's no real connection between the 'Triboro' boroughs beyond their postal affiliation—the Triborough Bridge connects Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx, after all. The New York Times, in a rather thorough article, reported that various folks around the city were dismayed by this development. But at least Queens and Staten Island still held their (if diminished) statures on their mail.

Over the course of 2012 my father and I (Queens residents) were perplexed and/or annoyed to discover that most mail processed with a TRIBORO cancel began to shortchange our fair borough: the 'QNS' had vanished. The truncated postmark now read "TRIBORO NY 112 / BKLYN-STATEN ISL." Here's an example:

What is this—BIBORO? It felt a bit like a Carmen Sandiego episode.

Let's put this in perspective: the population of Queens exceeds 2.3 million. Houston proper contains 2.1 million people; Philadelphia: 1.5 million. Phoenix: 1.5 million. USPS had just deleted one of the nation's largest cities from the mailstream.

By the end of November I'd heard nothing from a handful of my contacts, so I decided to call the Plant Manager's office directly to see if there was any rationale for the change. I reached someone in the support staff and apprised him of the issue. No one seemed to know anything about the invisible borough. But, the nice guy I spoke with said he'd look into it.

Happily for folks who reside in our fantastic and diverse borough, all letters I've received that have been cancelled on or after December 17, 2012 have been cancelled with the reinstated QNS. Here are a couple of before-and-afters:

Brooklyn P&DC [AFCS] machine 1:


Brooklyn P&DC [AFCS] machine 3:


Brooklyn P&DC [AFCS] machine 6:


Brooklyn P&DC [AFCS] machine 7: no 'before' example.


Small details add up when it comes to serving folks. Unfortunately medium-sized cities across America are losing their postmarks, but hopefully my three letters .

On the Hit List: Long Island Processing Plants

Edited 10/9/11: 5:25pm: I had some facts wrong; not all of these facilities are being studied for consolidation into the Brooklyn P&DC. Information has been revised.

Edited 5/28/2017: This entry has long merited revision, since some of my statements might have jumped the closure gun. USPS revised many of its consolidation plans well after publication of this entry. Noting that this page is cited on Wikipedia, to fact-checkers, please conduct additional research to validate more recently approved and disapproved consolidation activities. For example, as of 2017 the following facilities continue to process outgoing first-class mail from New York City and Long Island: New York, NY (Morgan Annex) and Mid-Island, NY. Brooklyn P&DC only distributes destinating mail. Queens P&DC processes packages only. The New York L&DC in Bethpage has since been renamed. And Western Nassau doesn't do too much anymore...

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For those of you who don't already know, USPS not only wants to close down its small-town and poor-neighborhood post offices; it also wants to shutter half its processing plants and make our mail substantially slower as well! Yet another brilliant idea to re-invigorate the postal service and rally the American people to its side. [End sarcasm.]

Currently, Long Island [Nassau and Suffolk County for our purposes] maintains three mail processing and/or distribution facilities, each with different functions. USPS is studying the closure or reshuffling of [read: Management would like to close] just about everything. Let's see what we've got:

1. Mid-Island Processing and Distribution Facility; Melville, NY

This is Long Island's heavy lifter. It takes care of the First-Mail cancellations and processing for about 190 post offices that serve 2.5+-million Long Islanders. Its spray-cancel reads "LONG ISLAND NY 117", though it also has a mechanical canceling machine whose '[stamp-]killer' is in the shape of Long Island itself! Mail processing operations from the Western Nassau P&DC [see below] have already been consolidated into this facility; USPS would like to shove the "Mid-Island Annex" into here as well. I don't know the exact function of that nearby location, but since its listed address is the same as the plant itself, the consolidation sounds rather trivial.

2. New York Logistical and Distribution Center; Bethpage, NY

Formerly known as Priority Mail Processing Centers (PMPCs), L&DCs expedite rapid-delivery parcels. This is a positively huge facility, and based on the photo of exterior hedges above, not one the public ever gets to see. (I DID get to see a bit more of it around the back, but so as not to piss too many postal lawyers off I won't post a photo of the giant yellow cube that is the employee/visitor entrance here.) We're talking dozens of large trucks. They'd like to shove this into the smaller Western Nassau P&DC; which is odd because the Western Nassau P&DC is... well, let's find out.

3. Western Nassau Mail Processing Facility; Garden City, NY
This facility no longer cancels mail; its purpose is to get the mail distributed to its local offices for final delivery to businesses and residences. Unlike the other facilities described in this post, this facility also maintains a retail window for customers. If this gets closed, I'm guessing that window would be gone as well. Now USPS is looking at taking this out of Nassau and shoving it all into the Mid-Island complex.


But wait, there's more! Act now and if you close three, you get one free!

4. Queens Processing and Distribution Center; College Point, Flushing, NY


[Seen from the shopping center across the street:]


All mail cancellation and processing operations were moved from Staten Island and Queens two years ago: any mail deposited anywhere within the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island gets this handy-dandy postmark that reads "TRIBORO NY 112 // BKLYN QNS STATEN ISL // [[date]]". [The name "Triboro" is mythic and arbitrary, referring to the fact that this postal District covers Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island -- NOT the three boroughs connected by New York City's Triborough Bridge, for the record.] The Queens P&DC currently maintains mail distribution operations for Queens offices, but even that seems likely to be relegated to Brooklyn or the Morgan Annex in Manhattan. I think it's stupid to drive mail into Queens from Manhattan. Are they all going to depend on the L.I.E.? Consolidation into Brooklyn is likely inevitable.

Bonus: The mythic Brooklyn Processing and Distribution Center; Brooklyn, NY


This location is positively huge. Or as some might say, it's ginormous. It's got tens of acres of floorspace, as well as postal District offices upstairs. It even has its own bus stop right in front of the primary employee entrance! Once again, since these photos were taken on public streets, off postal property, it's perfectly legal to take and publish them. You could just as easily see the same thing on Google Street View, here.

Annnd, USPS is thinking of consolidating the Brooklyn P&DC into the Morgan P&DC in western Manhattan. How would we get hundreds of additional mail trucks into and out of western Manhattan all day? No idea. To USPS management, the pluses of closing these processing facilities go beyond perceived cost efficiency. You see, each USPS plant has its own labor union, and in this instance they could effectively eliminate four entire union branches. So the whole procedure also serves as a convenient way of cutting the power of USPS's labor unions which would, of course, make it even easier for USPS to get its way in the future. With USPS's current plan, not only would half the country's mail processing infrastructure be eliminated, but 250 organized sets of workers could be wiped off the map. I should note that this is just my personal speculation, but I would still put money on it. Yet another depressing facet to the whole plan.

DPO'd: Fort Tilden, New York

Back in February, after I visited the Broad Channel CPU featured in this popular post, I was surprised to find that the Fort Tilden post office was not open. It was a Friday during normal business hours, after all.. and lunch only lasted from 12 and 1!

The sign on the door effectively stated "Closed: no heat."

In fact, that was the only sign on the door: aside from some mailboxes and a blue box out front, there was virtually no way to know this building housed a post office. Well, close -- after you look for a little bit you see a paper-sized sign in the window with USPS's Sonic Eagle logo and the office's hours on it.

Here are two views of the office:


I was told the post office (technically a CPU) was likely to be closed soon, due to the building's utter decrepit condition; but I had no idea it was like this. I learned later that the post office was known to close one day a week during the winter, due to lack of heat. In New York City!

The post office served the small community of Breezy Point at the western end of Far Rockaway, and was located at the exact location signified on this map:

View Larger Map

Fort Tilden was an actual, well, fort. Established in 1917 and decommissioned in 1974, it how houses to two arts organizations and is part of the National Parks Service: Gateway Recreation Area. You can find more about Fort Tilden here.

Given the largely residential nature of the Breezy Point community, it seems unlikely that the post office will be able to find a new commercial establishment to call home within the limited area.

The nearest post office is Far Rockaway's Rockaway Park Station, 2.6 miles away. A photogenic post office in its own right, it's now the destination for Breezy Point residents' P.O. Box and retail needs.

Here's a map showing the trek from one location to the other:

View Larger Map

Here's the Rockaway Park Station:


Now the Fort Tilden post office, I was told, was going to be saved by the office of now-disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner, who serves the District that includes south Queens and parts of Brooklyn. Apparently that plan fell through: While the office lasted through February, when it was originally scheduled to close, it was finally shuttered on April 30.

A treat for those of you who have read all this post: Here is the Facebook page for the Fort Tilden post office, made by the contractor. You can follow more of the story there.

On a side note: The contractor misspelled Tilden on the Facebook page ("Fort Tillden"); and the postmark actually read "Fort Tildeo". Fascinating, no?

Conquering Queens

It two years, but I'm proud to announce that I've visited and documented [photographed] all 74 active postal facilities in Queens, NY, which includes the post offices of Long Island City, Jamaica, Flushing, and Far Rockaway. (And one branch -- Glen Oaks -- of Floral Park, Nassau County.)

There are 63 active offices (4 main offices and 58 stations, plus Glen Oaks), though I've visited 64 -- consider that La Guardia Airport's P.O. was discontinued; 7 CPUs (though I've visited 8, if you include the former site of the Broad Channel CPU); 3 annexes; and the Queens Processing & Distribution Facility (P&DF).

The final office, which I visited this afternoon, was Long Island City's Sunnyside Station:

Like all post offices should (but which few in urban areas do), the station had a beautiful four-bar cancel. Furthermore, "Station" and the state were fully written out; no abbreviations! (For security reasons I have never, and will never, publish scans of any postmarks from my collection here.)

Only in New York: a Post Office in a Bagel Shop

Setting: Broad Channel, Queens, NY.

View Larger Map

Broad Channel is a community of 3,000 people that lies on an island in the middle of Jamaica Bay, a tad southwest of JFK International Airport. The inhabited part of the island is about 1,000 feet wide and centers on Cross Bay Blvd., which connects the town to Howard Beach and the Rockaways. The rows of houses along side streets are separated by water; people fish off their back decks and many have boats. (See satellite view, below.) Surrounding land/water is managed by the National Park Service and is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area.



There are traffic lights on Cross Bay Blvd., and one of the peculiarities of the community is that left turns are permitted at most intersections on red after a stop.


The community has not had a classified (run-by-USPS) post office for a long time. The closest classified offices are Far Rockaway's Rockaway Beach Station (1.2 miles) and Jamaica's Howard Beach Station (3.8 miles). The former might not sound like too far a distance to travel; but note that the Rockaways lie across a toll bridge.

For many years a contract postal unit (CPU) had been located on Broad Channel in Wharton's Pharmacy. The building was beautiful, but the business went under last year. The CPU officially closed May 21, 2010, though the store lasted for a couple more months. Here's a photo of the building in July 2010:



As of mid-December Broad Channel again has a CPU. The new contractor is The Bay-Gull Store on Cross-Bay Blvd. between 17^th and 18^th Rd. Next door is the Broad Channel branch of the Queens Library. So yes: it's effectively a post office in a bagel shop. Only in New York.

The owner, Pat W., is an ambitious entrepreneur who bought the building last year and keeps adding new aspects to his shop. Currently there's the bagel shop out front; ices along the side (during the summer); the CPU in the back; and groceries to come. Here's a little album from my visit there yesterday:

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The Bay-Gull Store; Broad Channel

DPO'd: La Guardia Airport Post Office

The Postal Bulletin announces that the post office at New York's La Guardia Airport saw its last day on December 31, 2010. It's another one that was expected, since it had been on the consolidation 'Hit List' for over a year.

I was questioned by Postal Police for taking these photos in September '09 and warned that I couldn't publish them. Now, as a New Yorker I'm as concerned about security as anyone; but since the post office is now closed and these photos no longer pose a perceivable threat, here we go!:


Airport post offices have been easy targets for closure by the postal service since they don't service or represent residential communities, and so people are less attached to them. In fact, the post office at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta -- which was usually open 18 hours a day and held hours seven days a week -- was discontinued just two days ago! (Jan. 31, 2011.)

The facility seemed to be used by pilots and other aviation staff members, as well as businessmen catching flights. The post office took in $120,000 annually. Here was signage noting the possibility of closure at LGA back in 2009:



For the record...
The address represents the USPS Triboro District office; it is in charge of Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island post offices and mail processing. Its spray-on cancel reads "TRIBORO NY 112 // BKLYN QNS STATEN ISL // [[date]]"; 112 being the three-digit prefix for offices in Brooklyn only. (The Triborough Bridge in New York City, for the record, connects Queens, Manhattan, and The Bronx! This "Triboro" exists in postal name only.)