Many places slated to lose post offices fear losing even more
Communities’ social fabric would suffer, some say
LOS ANGELES - Once a municipal landmark found in even the smallest communities, the neighborhood post office is slowly going the way of the handwritten letter. So much so that the Postal Service is considering closing nearly 1,000 of its smaller branches.
Small communities on the list worry they’ll lose a needed service. In places like San Juan Capistrano, Calif., officials are fighting to save their city’s only post office.
When the Postal Service last month named the offices that could be closed, the community was astounded that its single branch was on the list.
“This is a gathering place for people and has been for years,’’ said Pam Lytle, a real estate agent, as she mailed a package and bought stamps at the post office. “Closing it would just be a big no-no.’’
That would force customers to trek to a larger office 5 miles away, in Mission Viejo.
City leaders are united in opposition to the possible shuttering of the sole post office in the community of 36,000.
“We pride ourselves on a small-village feel and character, and we encourage our community to shop and take care of business locally,’’ Mayor Mark Nielsen said. “It certainly would create a large void and make it tremendously inconvenient for a number of our citizens.’’
It is hardly surprising the Postal Service is considering shedding its more modest outposts.
With officials describing its financial position as grave, the agency is under pressure to cut expenses. Mail volume has plummeted not only because of the recession but because most messages these days are e-mailed and more postal transactions are conducted online.
This month, the agency projected a net loss of $7 billion by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Officials said the list was preliminary and that no offices would be closed without studies and public meetings.
“It’s not a hit list, and there are no decisions made yet,’’ said Richard Maher, a Postal Service spokesman. “We’re calling it a consolidation.’’
But one thing is for sure: Soon to be gone are the days when nearly everyone can go into a local post office and have a clerk send a parcel. “That’s not the case anymore,’’ Maher said. “You don’t have to go to the neighborhood post office to get stamps or even mail a package.’’
The potential cuts are of particular concern to the elderly and isolated.
“This is the one they depend on,’’ said Natalie Fuller, a patron at the San Juan Capistrano post office. The retired court clerk made a date with her senior citizens group to discuss how the post office’s closing could affect their quality of life. “It would spoil it terribly: It’s the only one we have in the actual city.’’
In Newport Beach, Calif., officials have been hearing complaints about possible closings, particularly from Balboa Island, a quaint neighborhood connected to the mainland by narrow bridges and a ferry. There, the post office is as much for socializing as doing business.
“Some of our residents on the island are elderly and they walk to that post office,’’ said Tara Finnigan, a city spokeswoman. “It’s been part of the fabric of that island for years.’’
