Series of mail thefts has Astoria residents calling for action
NEW YORK - Beneath the Hell Gate Bridge in Astoria, an uneasy feeling has settled over a close-knit community.
"We have a lot of elderly people here and vulnerable people. We have retired city workers," longtime resident Christina Fraioli said.
Mail has been stolen repeatedly from green USPS relay mailboxes — temporary storage used by mail carriers — on 23rd Avenue at the corner of 21st Street, neighbors say.
The scheme has been caught on security camera several times over months. In the footage, a suspect is seen using what appears to be a key to open the green boxes, grabbing the large sacks of mail contained inside and hoisting them into a waiting car that drives away.
Local residents say they're missing utility bills, government checks and even life-saving medication.
Fraioli found out about the theft not from the postal service, but by neighborhood word of mouth.
"Forget being offered fraud protection. We're not even being told about this," she said.
Neighbor Kathleen Jordan subscribes to USPS delivery updates. Emails show incoming letters that don't arrive.
"I saw my birthday card, and I never received it," she said.
Though relay box theft is an ongoing problem across the borough, this Astoria neighborhood's pleas to the post office, police and local officials have gone largely unanswered. Many see it as an equity issue in a diverse working-class area.
In a statement, the United States Postal Inspection Service declined to comment on an ongoing investigation but told us in part, "Vetted victims may be notified in accordance with any active mail theft investigation."
"No one has been notified of this," Fraioli said.
Locals want to know how perpetrators got the key in the first place.
"The U.S. Postal Service has to do better. That's the bottom line," Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said. "It's not rocket science. They should be looking at different technology that they can utilize to ensure the safety of people's mail, especially during a time when people are in financial distress."
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