Politics & Government

South Side Post Office Will Stay Open

W. Fourth Street branch had been on list of post offices being considered for closure.

 

The U.S. Postal Service has delivered an early Christmas present to the people of South Bethlehem: The Post Office on W. Fourth Street is not going to close as part of a current study to discontinue service in some communities.

According to a story in The Express-Times, the South Side branch is one of a handful that have been removed from a list of nearly 3,700 post offices under consideration for closure as part of a plan to reduce costs of the debt-laden federal agency.

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In October, about 40 SouthSide residents turned up for a at Broughal Middle School to urge the Postal Service not to close the neighborhood branch.

A closed branch would have forced South Side residents, including 300 post office box holders, many of whom only walk or use public transportation, to take two buses to make their way to a north Bethlehem branch on .

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All post offices being considered for closure supposedly earned less than $27,500 in annual revenue, earned less than $600,000 and had five other places to buy stamps within two miles, or earned less than $1 million annually and had five other places to buy stamps within half a mile.

The did almost $362,000 in walk-in business last year, according to the president of the local postal workers’ union, Bernie Ogozalek.

Last month, the postal service announced that it finished its fiscal year with a net loss of $5.1 billion.


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