Friday, August 24, 2018

The case of the missing mail


From CBS 2:

On Thursday afternoon, the Postal Service apologized for the delivery issues, admitting, “There have been new hires to replace some recent retirements and to assist with prime vacation period.”

The Postal Service said since January it has been meeting quarterly with postal managers and community leaders to try to strengthen service in the Rockaways.

Dozens of residents shared their ongoing mail delivery problems on Facebook and by email, saying the Postal Service isn’t doing enough.

“They need to have the head of the post office come down and talk to us. They’re avoiding us,” Simon said.

The mistakes can be costly, from missing medication deliveries to late fees from missing bills. So residents say an apology is not enough.

The Postal Service suggests people track their mail digitally to help keep track of their letters and packages.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

If misery loves company, the folks in Far Rockaway can join those of us "served" in Bayside/Oakland Gardens. It's such an epidemic of missing delivery, small businesses are working around the USPS for delivery and billing. Small wonder post office is going the way of newspaper printing.

Anonymous said...

It would help if the postal workers could read, which they don't

georgetheatheist said...

Another example of collectivism "in action". Are you reading this collectivist-socialist Ocasio-Cortez?

Anonymous said...

The postal service should also look into the conditions of some of the post offices in Queens, especially the Corona branch. It's dirty, the employees always open up late and give you attitude and they have a broken door that has not been fixed in over a year.

#FIXMYPOSTOFFICE

Anonymous said...

I have not been to the Corona branch, but ever been to the Jamaica post office at 164 st and 89 Ave. What a fucking third world mess, all that is missing is chickens running around. Dirty, rude clueless workers and of course the many low-class residents who don't know the simple procedure of mailing something.

Anonymous said...

Check their houses!!

How many sacks of mail are they sitting on?

LOL!

ron s said...

Re "Another example of collectivism "in action". Are you reading this collectivist-socialist Ocasio-Cortez?"

I had no idea Ocasio-Ortiz delivers the mail in Rockaway. She must be very busy.

JQ LLC said...

"I had no idea Ocasio-Ortiz delivers the mail in Rockaway. She must be very busy."

That's a good one. Unfortunately she's mixing with the wrong crowd.

https://twitter.com/jqllc/status/1033171061607677953

Anonymous said...

Dopes working in the post office these days can hardly read or speak English.
How the hell are these people passing the tests or do they just hire anybody now?

BTW there are chickens running around in Jamaica, also at Inwood.
Lots of people have them for pets and fresh eggs. Chickens are near impossible to catch once they get out.

Anonymous said...

The post offices on Beach Channel Drive and B.114th Street, Rockaway Beach Boulevard and B. 91st Street and the one in Averne by B.57th Street and Beach Channel Drive all have the same supervisor. Three post offices with one supervisor.

Sometimes there are no stamps and no money orders! They put hand written signs up. It is outrageous that the US Post Office does not have stamps available. When I ask they say they didn't bring them from Averne. It's not far from Averne with a Post Office vehicle, maybe a 10 minute drive, if you are going slow. They could have someone walk over the stamps if they really wanted to provide a service. No, they don't. What they want is to as little work as possible.

Not everyone , but many of Rockaway Postal employees are high and drunk during work hours. The word is that they are selling drugs on the job in Rockaway, using Post Office vehicles. They deliver the mail later and later each night, sometimes after 8pm. I don't believe the story about casual employees put on the routes. The postal service is not reliable in Rockaway and it has gone from bad to worse.


Anonymous said...

It is not just NYc, here in Delaware the delivery kids listen to their cell phone and yack away while delivering, not paying any attention. I get my neighbor's mail several times a year, and a different neighbor gets mine, and so on down the block.

Anonymous said...

Station A in Broadway-Flushing is pretty bad, too. Any time my regular letter carrier has a day off, or is on vacation, I get mail for people around the block, even though there's a different name, different address, and different ZIP+4. Once got someone's AmEx statement, and that person lived in downtown Flushing. Who knows what I've missed over the years.

Anonymous said...

End affirmative action, eliminate all affirmative action hires and promotions. Privatize and robotize the US Post Office. This is our only hope. If you don't believe me, read the yelp reviews for NYC post offices. How the heck do those people keep their jobs after screaming, yelling and threatening customers while drunk?

What happened to the American flags that flew outside every post office? It would be taken down at close of business and put up again in the morning.

Sometimes I'll see a torn dirty flag outside a post office that stays up through every rain and snow storm. It's more reliable than the current employees.

Anonymous said...

We are having an epidemic of "mail fishing" in Forest Hills. I myself was a victim. Thieves "fish" the blue boxes looking for envelopes with credit card/bank/utility addresses, etc. that obviously contain checks. Then they "wash" the checks and rewrite checks to themselves. I mailed a $50 check and they washed off my info, forged my signature and rewrote it to themselves for $8,000. Fortunately, my bank was vigilant. I'm surprised that the possibility of fishing didn't come up in this piece, especially when people are talking about all their bill payments disappearing. Another huge problem: The USPS uses pass keys for the blue boxes,with one key opening many boxes. The keys are being stolen. The 112th Precinct told me they've tried to get the USPS to change their key system, but to no avail. I was advised to mail only inside the post office. They told me even the new "thin slot" boxes can be fished...and obviously any box can be completely opened if someone has the key. Stay away from mailboxes...they've become candy stores for criminals. Some of the issues cited in this piece might stem from incompetence...but some of it definitely sounds like mail fishing.

JQ LLC said...

The only way this gets stemmed just a little is bigger punitive charges and fines for mail fishing and forgery. Apologies for getting nostalgic, but there was a time when people respected the mail and left it alone and the bastards that forged checks usually wound up getting caught.

I guess this is just some societal breakdown going on with the widening income disparity and the impunity and hubris of the too big to fail banks and the continuing success of the inherently corrupt teflon and marmalade covered leader of the free world that is making people think that there are no standards or even enforcement of the laws anymore.

OGCLE said...

Yeah, business as usual http://ogcle.blogspot.com/2017/08/mail-dumped-on-43rd-ave-but-who-cares.html?m=1

Anonymous said...

I posted the comment regarding mail fishing and want to post this as a follow-up and also bring it to the attention of JQLLC, who made some interesting points:

After having to close my checking account and being presented with a copy of my stolen check (with my forged signature, a "payable to" name I didn't recognize, and an amount I most definitely had not written)...I asked the customer service rep what the next step in the investigation would be. She said there was no next step...except to tell the other bank that they wouldn't pay the check. I noted that there were several crimes manifested on the washed check (mail theft, forgery, fraud, attempted theft). She told me that there's an investigation only if the fraudulent transaction is completed and the thieves manage to get the money.

I am not making this up.

I then called BOA, the bank where the thieves attempted to cash or deposit the fake check. I spoke to probably six people...everyone telling me I should be speaking to a different department. Ultimately, I got the same response: Not interested.

Now...it would seem that if there's clear evidence of anyone ATTEMPTING to clean out the bank accounts of the "little guy" (after all, who's mailing checks in Queens mailboxes...it ain't the Koch brothers), someone might be interested in preventing it. But they're not. The 112th precinct told me the same thing. And when I called the USPS Inspection number, similar attitude. I got a "confirmation number" for my call and was told I'd only hear back if they opened a case. (Naturally, I never heard back.) I spoke with the branch manager of my bank and she said she'd seen much greater amounts than the fake $8,000 on my check go ignored by the banks. She wasn't happy about it herself, but could only pass along my concerns.

Apparently, it's of interest to precisely no one if mail thieves ATTEMPT to access your bank funds. You know...the money you probably need to live on. Big yawn.

So...to wrap up:

Yes, there are several interesting broader messages in all of this. Also, would it be a cliche to mention Kafka at this point?

P.S. I now cringe whenever I see anyone using the blue mailboxes, and often try to warn them. But what's wrong with this picture?


Ned said...

Post office is hiring felons from some sort of new progressive rehabilitation program. And the post offices MUST take them in or face discrimination charges.

USPS EL-312, Section 514 requires background checks and review of criminal history. Felonies and Misdemeanor's no longer automatically bar applicants from being hired.
Thank Obama, that nasty gift that just keeps on giving.

http://www.answers.com/Q/Can_the_post_office_hire_someone_who_has_a_misdemeanor

https://www.jailstojobs.org/u-s-postal-service-hiring-offers-excellent-opportunities/

I take it the democrat lunatics up in New York are getting what they deserve, what they voted for and now don’t like it.
Dumb sheep are starting to face the blades to the throat they brought on themselves it’s so sad, Boo-Hoo-hoo :( :(


-Ned

www.nra.org

Anonymous said...

You can no longer use or mail checks period.
Put utility bills and all the crap the criminals phish for on electronic auto-pay, shred and toss rebates in the garbage because in most cases those rebates will bring you more spam and trouble then they are worth, never dial 800 numbers from a landline. Why? because the company's that process the 800 numbers get all your name, address and private financial info because they are paying for the call and thats WITH YOUR IMPLIED CONSENT for using an 800 number. (thats how it works)
Keep a debit card and set the limit to $200 a day with a text message every time a withdrawal or account access takes place.
BOA will do this free

FORGET USING CHECKS !!!!

Anonymous said...

Since the fishing started everyone was advised to bring your mail to the post office mail it directly from there. Ok that was done and my relative never got the birthday card. No cash in it. Just a simple birthday card. What happened to it? No one knows. Was it delivered to another house? Was it stolen in hopes to find $$ in it? But it was never received and it was mailed from inside the post office.