Today, Congressmen Jerrold Nadler (NY-08) and Anthony Weiner (NY-09), and City Councilman Michael Nelson (48th District) are pleased to announce that the Brighton Postal Station in Brighton Beach will remain open. After months of concerted effort by the three elected officials and the United States Postal Service (USPS) to keep the post office open, USPS has signed a new five-year lease for the Station located at 3157 Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, set to begin in July.

“The closure of the Brighton Postal Station would have posed a tremendous inconvenience for the entire community of Brighton Beach, and particularly for seniors, those with disabilities, and businesses that rely on its services for their productivity,” Nadler said. “I commend the Postal Service for ensuring that the needs of this community will continue to be met.”

“Losing such an important neighborhood asset would have been unacceptable, as this is the only post office in Brighton Beach,” Weiner said. “The outspoken members of this community rallied to prevent this closure, and they deserve a great deal of credit for helping to avert what surely would have been a severe blow to those who live and do business in Brighton Beach.”

“As New Yorkers face many hardships in the current harsh economic climate, the threatened loss of the Brighton Beach Post Office raised especially great concern,” said Nelson. “After concerted efforts with Congressman Nadler, the Brighton Beach Post Office will continue to operate and serve the needs of the people of the community for years to come.”

The Brighton Postal Station has been open for more than three decades. In 2009, when the Station’s lease was due for renewal, USPS announced that the dramatic increase in rent might force it to vacate the facility. Following protests from community members outraged at the prospect of Brighton Beach without a post office, Nadler, Weiner and Nelson intervened to preserve the neighborhood’s only postal facility. Through letters and brokered meetings between USPS and the building’s landlord, they first secured a six-month extension to the existing lease, and, as of today, the USPS has successfully negotiated a new five-year lease for the Station.