“Not only serving as a great convenience for local residents, merchants saved much staff and travel time being able to get in and out quickly and efficiently, often without the need [to drive],” he said.
The branch at 3810 W. Magnolia Blvd. was slated to close in January amid speculation of a lease increase, but an outpouring of community support and thousands of signatures led to a meeting at the postal service’s office of lease and contracts in San Francisco, where Davis and U.S.P.S. officials brokered a month-to-month lease agreement.
While neither side disclosed specifics of the deal, Davis said at the time that “they are going to be there for as long as they want to be there.”
The postal service last year lost $3.8 billion and is facing more significant losses this year, mostly due to the recession and more people migrating to the Internet for bill payments and correspondence.
Postmaster General John Potter last month told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that the postal service “stand[s] on the brink of financial insolvency.”
The way Americans communicate has changed dramatically, and the postal service must change with it, Potter said.
He appeared before the committee to defend requests for greater flexibility to cut Saturday delivery, raise postage rates and possibly close or consolidate thousands of post offices.
Richard Maher, a spokesman for U.S. Postal Service, characterized the local consolidation as part of “an effort to operate more efficiently based upon our situation.”
Magnolia Park box-holders should go to the main office at 2140 N. Hollywood Way where their mail will be waiting for them on May 22, Maher said. Two clerks would also be relocated to Hollywood Way to help meet the extra load, he said, adding that patrons would now have Saturday service and longer hours.
