Will Sleepy Hollow's Post Office Get Axed?

To many, having a local post office is as much necessity as an idyllic staple of village life. 

And in many ways the Sleepy Hollow post office, located at 45 Beekman Avenue, exemplifies this feeling. With its constant flow of residents sending letters, picking up packages and chatting briefly with employees, it's hard not to get a sense of community in the one-room facility.

"It's part of living in a Village, this is my post office," said local attorney John Lewis, who stopped in Tuesday afternoon to send his post. 

Like many, Lewis has been using the Sleepy Hollow post office for decades, but according to the United States Postal Service, Sleepy Hollow's postal outpost could be made redundant. 

A list, released today, shows 3,700 USPS locations that are to be evaluated for potential closure in the coming years. Sleepy Hollow's post office is the only location in Westchester County, aside from one in Mt. Vernon and one in Yonkers, to make the list. 

The USPS is reviewing the locations, it says, to conform with a more digital age, and to plug nearly $8 billion the agency reportedly lost last year. 

“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,” said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe in a statement released this morning. 

However, locals and employees have an entirely different view of "leaning" out Sleepy Hollow's office. 

"We need this post office," said Luisa Tavarez of Lawrence Avenue. "We have two villages, we should have two post offices too."

The reason the location is on the list could be a simple calculation made from afar – Sleepy Hollow's post office is a satellite branch of the larger Tarrytown station where mail is processed. All mail to and from Sleepy Hollow at some point goes through Tarrytown. On paper, it could have been an easy choice for evaluation, but others say it doesn't take into account the reality on the ground level. 

"These decisions are always made in Washington without anyone looking at what is happening locally," said one USPS employee who asked not to be named. "They need to interview local people, because those are the ones who will be affected."

If the Sleepy Hollow location were to close, residents would have to go to Tarrytown, or further afield to Ossining or Pleasantville to send packages. However, many who use the Sleepy Hollow facility say that Tarrytown's location is burdensome for a number of reasons. 

"In Tarrytown there is nowhere to park," said Barbara Muldoon of DeVries Avenue. "And its impossible to get up there if you are handicapped. Here, handicapped people can park outside and roll right in."

While there is high demand at the Sleepy Hollow location, some customers admitted they refuse to go to the Tarrytown office due to longer lines. Employees noted that there is often an equal mix of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow residents using the Beekman Avenue location, and that that has caused the office to be constantly in use and understaffed. 

"We used to have three people here, now it is just me with someone who comes in for me on my lunch break," said USPS employee Ather Adams. "I know they want to save money, but this place makes money."

According to a number of postal employees interviewed on Tuesday, the real problem with the USPS is not locations, but mismanagement, a top-heavy structure, and the rising costs of fuel and delivery. 

Still there are some things that could keep the Sleepy Hollow location running. The government recently signed a new lease for the Beekman space, although the terms of the lease aren't public and post offices have been closed despite lease agreements. 

Overall, many residents seemed to think that the closure of a local post office would once again put more pressure on their lives and their pocketbooks. 

"It's always something isn't it," said Patrick Lussier, who has an auto body business in Sleepy Hollow. "Everything is either going up in price or service is being cut. It's terrible."