

Stella admitted, but added that she is a fan of the new design “because you can’t stick your hands inside and take things out.” “The first time I used this box, I was confused,” Ms. The Postal Service, which has been struggling financially for years in the face of declining mail volume, did not respond to questions about the average cost of each new or updated mailbox, or whether the overhaul had made an additional dent in mail volume.Įarlier this month, Mary Stella, who lives in Midtown Manhattan, peered and poked at the slot before inserting her letter. One letter carrier in Midtown Manhattan said the volume of mail in the boxes he empties seems to have decreased by about half, and a few customers have asked him if the box was locked. The introduction of the new boxes has led to some confusion. Mailboxes in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island are slowly being upgraded.Īlexander Sylvester, a postal inspector with the Philadelphia division that also covers a large swath of New Jersey, said his office is trying hard to change “as many bins as possible,” but have prioritized areas most impacted by theft. Harris said.)Īll of the mailboxes in the Bronx already have been replaced or retrofitted, and Manhattan’s overhaul will be complete by summer.
#POST OFFICE DROP BOX NEAR ME ZIP#
You can find ZIP Codes and post office locations, and track a package with online tools from the U.S. “Those features on the box, what we like to call the Cadillac of mailboxes, those are things I can’t talk about,” Ms. Are you moving or want to rent a post office box. (With an air of crime-fighting secrecy, postal inspectors declined to elaborate on precisely how the device works.

The opening is also equipped with a mechanism that grabs at a letter once inserted, making it difficult to retract. The mail slots are only large enough for letters, meaning sending even small packages will require a trip to the post office. But as time changes, we all have to change with it,” said Donna Harris, a spokeswoman for the New York division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the Postal Service that works closely with local and State Police departments. Twenty years ago, maybe you wouldn’t have locked your door, or locked your car. No plans yet exist for a nationwide overhaul, officials said, but in areas where fishing becomes prevalent, the thief-proof boxes will likely follow. All of the approximately 7,000 mailboxes in New York City and those in other parts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts are being revamped.
