Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Borough President Scott Stringer, State Senator Brad Hoylman, and Assembly Members Richard Gottfried and Deborah Glick issued the following joint statement on recent developments around the United Stated Postal Service’s proposal to sell the Old Chelsea Post Office, at 217 West 18^th Street in Manhattan:

“As representatives of the Chelsea community served by the Old Chelsea Post Office, we are extremely concerned by the lack of public outreach and transparency with which the United States Postal Service (USPS) has operated regarding the proposed sale of the facility.  After considerable back-and-forth between elected officials and USPS, and very understandable outrage and confusion among community members, we have successfully obtained an agreement from USPS to hold a public meeting on April 11^th.

“However, we are deeply disappointed that USPS, after repeated requests, has only extended its public comment period to April 26^th, allowing community members just 15 days to comment following the April 11^th presentation.  USPS absurdly chose to begin its 60-day comment period on February 19^th, well before anyone had anything concrete on which to comment.  The extension clearly shows that USPS has discretion in this matter and we, once again, call for the full 60-day comment period to begin after the public presentation.

“The community meeting will be held on Thursday, April 11^th. at the Fulton Center Auditorium, at 119 9^th Avenue.  It is being organized by Manhattan Community Board 4, working with USPS, to directly inform Chelsea residents about the proposed plans for the Old Chelsea Post Office.  We encourage the community to participate and express its concerns to USPS during the remainder of the public comment period.  We will continue to work hard to ensure that USPS is more transparent and communicative going forward, and takes the community’s concerns seriously.”

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