WESTBROOKVILLE – The Westbrookville Contract Post Office issued a letter to their customers on Wednesday, June 28, announcing that the post office will be closing at the end of the business day on Thursday, June 29. The notice has raised questions and concerns from customers and elected officials regarding the immediate closure.
The residents of the hamlet of Westbrookville along Route 209 in Mamakating do not have mail delivery. Instead, all of the residents have post office boxes at the post office. The notice indicated that the nearest post office is located in Otisville, more than three miles away. The letter also indicated that the entire PO Box section of the Westbrookville post office will be moved to the Otisville Post Office.
There will be no changes to the PO box numbers or mailing addresses. Postmaster James Burns said the only change will be that, beginning on Friday, June 30, the customers must pick their mail up at the Otisville Post Office.
Mamakating Councilman Peter Goodman expressed his frustration with the postal service to Mid-Hudson News. “This announcement did not give anyone a chance to discuss it,” adding “I am reaching out to elected officials at the state and federal level to see if they can prevent this closing from taking place.” Goodman noted that the deli next to the current post office will likely suffer from the lack of people conducting mail transactions every day.
Westbrookville resident Brianna Bailey said she is not permitted to have a mailbox at her Westbrookville residence on Route 209. “The house right next door has a Wurtsboro address, so they are allowed to have mail delivered to their house – but we are not given that option.” Bailey, who is eight months pregnant, said that several other inconveniences are created by the closure. “They didn’t give us the option to use a different post office. I commute to the hospital for work and there are other post offices that are more convenient than the one in Otisville that has very limited parking.”
Congressman Marc Molinaro is aware of the abrupt closing. On Wednesday night he said, “The USPS leadership has failed Sullivan County,” adding “It has failed to address mail service issues facing predominantly Jewish communities and now closing a local post office with little notice. We are pressing for answers and working to get a solution.”
The Mamakating Town Board is holding a meeting on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. at the town hall. Several residents are expected to speak out against the closing of the post office.
