CARLSTADT – The Carlstadt post office, dedicated to two local fallen Iraqi War veterans, has survived revenue declines and was spared permanent closure in 2011 but now faces “discontinuance” following a three-alarm fire on April 24 that caused its doors to temporarily shut.
Since the fire, services have been suspended, and pickups and other services routed to the East Rutherford branch about a mile away. Postal officials have sent out notices to its customers that a community meeting is planned at or near the Rutherford post office to explain the postal service’s plans and to solicit comments concerning possible alternative means of providing postal and other services to Carlstadt residents. The date of that meeting has not been set.
But one public official is not waiting for a public meeting and has written to the postal service asking that it continues its service in Carlstadt.
“Although the recent fire was destructive and costly, it should not be used as a pretext to shut down the Carlstadt Post Office,” Congressman Bill Pascrell wrote to Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe. “What is now a temporary inconvenience for Carlstadt postal customers must not become a permanent hardship. My constituents in Carlstadt rely on a convenient and accessible postal location for a wide range of personal and business needs. A failure to quickly reopen, rebuild or relocate the Post Office within Carlstadt would create an unnecessary hardship for these local residents and loyal postal customers. The closure of local post offices in towns like Carlstadt threatens that trust and drives customers to seek out other service providers.”
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New Jersey Congressman Urges PMG to Keep Carlstadt Post Office Open
(May 7, 2014) U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) urged U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to keep the Carlstadt Post Office open following a destructive fire that gutted the facility. USPS recently announced in a letter to postal customers they are studying the Carlstadt facility for “discontinuance” following the devastating blaze