Glasser Post Office Faces Possible Shut Down

Nancy Gonzalez has worked at the Glasser post office for 16 years. A few years ago, the United States Postal Service cut her hours.

Now it may cut her location.

The USPS announced last week it will study the feasibility of 3,700 post offices nationwide as customers increasingly conduct postal business via email. The Glasser office, which Gonzalez said serves about 50 to 60 Hopatcong homes, was on the New Jersey list, which can be found here.

She said location, while small, still serves a significant amount of people, selling out most of its about 160 post-office boxes to an area where mail trucks won't deliver.

"Other people use the post office as well," she said. "They think it's more convenient.

"The looks are deceiving," she continued. "I'm not going to say we have 5,000 pieces of mail going out every day. But UPS does send in a lot of stuff. It stays busy."

Hopatcong resident Peter McKenna said he's been using the Glasser post office since 1979.

"It's ridiculous," McKenna said of the post office's possible closure. "The post office has been here for how many years? It's been taking care of people, right? And now all of a sudden they're going to close it? What are we supposed to do for our mail? They don't deliver as it is now—they're lazy.

"They don't serve us. They don't care about us."

In a statement, the USPS said it operates nearly 32,000 retail offices. It said it would consider "right-sizing" — or downsizing — to "determine customer needs."

"Today, more than 35 percent of the Postal Service’s retail revenue comes from expanded access locations such as grocery stores, drug stores, office supply stores, retail chains, self-service kiosks, ATMs and usps.com, open 24/7,” Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said. “Our customer’s habits have made it clear that they no longer require a physical post office to conduct most of their postal business.”

The USPS said communities left without post offices after the study could see so-called "Village Post Offices"—smaller locations operated by local businesses—take their place.

“The Postal Service of the future will be smaller, leaner and more competitive and it will continue to drive commerce, serve communities and deliver value,” Donahoe added.

Gonzalez said several years ago her hours changed from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. through the week to 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

She also said she has heard for years chatter throughout the company the postal service was considering closing the Glasser office. And she said she hasn't heard about alternatives—whether affected residents would have to transfer to the Hopatcong or Lake Hopatcong locations.

Some residents hope to fight the post office to keep the Glasser location open. Bob Winegar, owner of KaBob's restaurant and Bob's Place, started a Facebook page called "Save The Glasser Post Office." On the page, Winegar wrote that the location is a historical site which has been open since the 1920s and that residents should plead with lawmakers to stop its shut down.

Several comments on the page offered support for the office and Gonzalez.

Close the location? Keep it open? Tell us in the comments.