Mail Theft Hits Queens, But Has Been Dying Down In Nassau County: PD

LONG ISLAND, NY — U.S. Rep. Grace Meng of Flushing called out USPS District Manager Frank Calabrese of Queens and Long Island Friday about mail theft at Relay Boxes (dark green boxes).

In her letter, the congresswoman asked the district manager, located in Melville, to take action, as the relay boxes store thousands of letters for local residents and are vulnerable to break-ins.

Representatives for the Nassau and Suffolk County Executive offices were not available to comment on whether mail theft has been a significant problem in those counties, and the Suffolk County Police Department deferred to the USPS, but a spokesman for the Nassau County Police Department said that mail theft was an issue in the county not to long ago, but has been dying down.

USPS said it will not comment on the congresswoman’s letter about mail theft in Queens, but said that mailbox safety remains a priority for the Postal Service and that the agency works in conjunction with local law enforcement and the US Postal Inspection Service to ensure mail is processed securely from end-to-end.

The Postal Service added that it has rolled out enhanced security mailboxes and other mailbox security measures to prevent criminal activity but because crimes can occur at any time and with remarkable ingenuity, customer awareness and vigilance remain critically important in its overall mission to safely and effectively handle mail.

The United States Postal Inspection Service, the federal law enforcement, crime prevention and security arm of the Postal Service recommended some tips for customers to keep their most precious mail (checks, money orders, credit cards and merchandise) safe, because despite its efforts, the agency deliveries to more than 150 million addresses across the country, says that it can’t do the job alone.

1. Pick up your mail promptly – try not to leave letters or packages in your mailbox or at your door for any length of time.

1. Deposit mail close to pick up time – deposit outgoing mail into USPS Blue Collection Boxes before the last collection or inside your local Post Office.

1. Inquire about overdue mail – if you do not receive a check, credit card or other valuable mail you’re expecting, contact the sender as soon as possible and inquire about it.

1. Monitor your own incoming mail with “Informed Delivery” by the U.S. Postal Service. Customers can sign up online at https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action. Informed Delivery® is a free and optional notification feature that gives residential consumers the ability to digitally preview their letter-sized mail and manage their packages scheduled to arrive soon.