Bronx Church At Odds With Local Post Office Over Lack Of Mail Deliveries
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There are growing frustrations at a church in the Bronx after a pastor says they have gone several days without getting mail.
At the St. Simon Stock -- St. Joseph Church on Valentine Avenue in Tremont, assistant pastor Nicholas Blackwell says he's moved heaven and earth to resolve a problem the church is having with its local post office, but despite preaching accountability, he says the message has not been delivered.
"It's terrible. I don't want to deride the people down there, but the service that we are receiving is atrocious," he said.
Father Blackwell says the mail service, or lack thereof, from the post office station on East Tremont Avenue is appallingly inadequate.
He says recently, the church did not receive mail for nine straight days, and at best, they're lucky if they get it three times a week.
At worst, church secretary Rosa Rivera says, "Sometimes it's 15 days. Sometimes a month. The longest one, it was a month without mail."
The problem, CBSN New York's Scott Rapoport learned, extends to a school next door to the church, where the New York City Archdiocese says the mail delivery is a mess and often times, the school mail is delivered to the church.
They say the worst part was just last week when the school next did not get its delivery of chocolates and cards for Valentines Day, leaving a lot of students disappointed.
"It was just sad. That was the straw that broke the camel's back," Blackwell said.
Father Blackwell says it's been this way since he arrived at the church two years ago.
The frequently empty mail bins, he says, prevents the church from doing its daily business, such as paying bills on time.
Father Blackwell says he's complained and complained but it's all fallen on deaf ears.
A postal service worker happened to come to the church to make a delivery while CBS2 was there, but the worker said the church wasn't his regular assignment.
CBS2 reached out to the United States Postal Service. It said it is looking into the matter and is promising to monitor mail service to both the church and the school going forward to make sure this doesn't happen again.
