Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

NO JOKE: POST OFFICE IS OUT TO LUNCH

SalmonClosing post offices at lunchtime is “stupid,” says Red Banker Tom Salmon.

It’s a loaded question, but it begs to be asked: is the U.S. Postal Service deliberately courting outrage among its customers?

How else to explain the newest changes to the hours of operation of three local substation/satellites of the Broad Street, Red Bank facility? According to postal service spokeswoman for our area Darleen A. Reid-De Meo:

• Starting Saturday, October 18, the Westboro office on Shrewsbury Avenue will be open from 8a to 4p, except for an hour for ‘lunch’ from 1 to 2p, when it will be closed.

• The Fair Haven substation will be open from 9a to 4p but also closed from 1 to 2p for ‘lunch.’ Just over four months ago, the office started closing at 4, an hour earlier than before, angering some merchants and residents.

• At Fort Monmouth, they’ll be closing for ‘lunch’ from 11 to 12, but that office will open at 9 and close for the night at 3p.

The changes come on the heels of schedule modifications and other moves to curtail counter and lobby service at area post offices.

In August, the Broad Street facility, which postponed its opening so that the counter now opens at 10a. Yet the facility also removed all the stamp vending machines that were in the lobby until shortly before that change took effect; the machines had been accessible at times when the counter was closed.

The changes also come amid some griping that the Westboro office doesn’t adhere to its posted hours. A borough official who asked not to be identified tells us that on more than one occasion, she has arrived at the Shrewsbury Avenue office to find it closed when it is supposed to be open.

What gives? redbankgreen asked Reid-De Meo. Her reply, via email:

By analysis of our Window Operations Survey (WOS) data only one clerk is
needed at these locations. The customer traffic and transactions can not
support two clerks. Therefore in order to control costs we have made
adjustments to staffing and hours of retail operations. Clerks were
moved from these two stations to support the busier retail traffic at
the Main Post Office and in the Shrewsbury Office.

There are two reasons why the Postal Service is removing or redeploying
vending equipment.
The equipment is obsolete, making it difficult or impossible to repair.
Not enough people are buying stamps from the machine, which means it is
not bringing in enough money to pay for the cost of keeping it stocked
and maintained.

Yet postal employees who are not authorized to be quoted tell us there’s no change in staffing planned at the two-person Westboro outlet, and that having just one person work there would raise security issues.

At noontime yesterday, we asked some customers of the Westboro station what they think of the changes. None of them were aware of the pending change — perhaps due in part to th fact that the notices are posted behind smoked glass. Here’s what they had to say:

“It’s stupid. The post office is the center of a town. If you’re going to lose that you might as well shut down the town. Also, Red Bank is very Broad Street-centric. I use both post offices, but this one needs to be enhanced.” Tom Salmon, chiropractor

“It’s wrong. It should be open.” Angry man who declined to give his name

“I’ll deal with it, but it’s difficult.” Brian Kirk, business owner and musician

“I usually come after 2:30, but it might be inconvenient for other people.” Judy Ramos, Red Bank

Email this story

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
THEY’RE BACK!
Ospreys returned to the skies over Red Bank this week for the first time since they migrated to warmer climes in late fall. With temperature ...
SPRING IS SPRUNG
RED BANK: Spring 2024 arrives on the Greater Red Bank Green with the vernal equinox at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday.
RED BANK’S FINEST – AND NEWEST
Red Bank Police Officer Eliot Ramos was sworn in as the force’s newest patrolman Thursday, and if you’re doing a double take thinkin ...
EASTER EGG MAYHEM AT THE PARK
An errant whistle spurred an unexpectedly early start to the Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, which had been scheduled to begin at eggsactly 11am ...
PRESEASON DOCKWORK
RED BANK: With winter winding down, marina gets ready for boating season with some dockwork on our beautiful Navesink River.
CORNED BEEF AND DISCO FRIES?
It’s Friday, and smart Lent-observing Leprechauns know the pot of gold at the end of Red Bank’s rainbow is actually the deliciou ...
SURFBOARD DITCHED
It’s a violation of etiquette in surfing to ditch your board.  (it could hit another surfer and hurt them). But someone appears to ha ...
ELSIE, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Soaked by pouring rain with the temperature hovering in the low 40’s, this sign in the window of Elsie’s Subs on Monmouth Street ...
WALK THIS WAY
PARTYLINE: Before-and-afters of a sidewalk cleanup on West Street.
SOGGY NOTION
RED BANK: Breezeway sculpture captured the mood downtown as heavy rains fell Saturday morning.
HOME DELIVERY
RED BANK: After a subdivision, an instant house rises on a new Catherine Street lot.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
For Black History Month, Red Bank's Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee has been running a series of local profiles on Facebo ...
HEARTY FAREWELL FOR HARDY
RED BANK: Council to honor DPU supervisor Rich Hardy, who retired recently after almost 39 years of keeping things running.
HOMEBOUND? READ ON…
RED BANK: Can't get to the public library? It's now offering free delivery and pickups for homebound borough residents.
TAMING A BEAST OF A WEEK
RED BANK: After the second snowfall of the week, a borough family finds the perfect use for it – a Godzilla snow sculpture.
RED BANK: LIBRARY CLOSED, BUT THE HILL’S OPEN
RED BANK: Though the library was closed by a snowstorm, kids got to enjoy the riverfront property's steep slope Tuesday.
LIGHT(HOUSE) MAKEOVER
This year, getting ready for spring means a midwinter makeover for Strollo's Lighthouse in Red Bank.
TODAY: LOCAL PUPPY COMPETES ON ANIMAL PLANET’S “PUPPY BOWL”
Red Bank’s very own rescue puppy, Biscuit, is set to compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl this Sunday, February 11, at 2 PM. Th ...
WHAT? NO redbankgreen NEWSLETTER?
Apologies to redbankgreen newsletter subscribers: the daily email hasn’t gone out for two days because of technical issues.
RED BANK: TIRED OF SKEETERS?
RED BANK: Tired of mosquito bites every summer? Monmouth County has a free program to help eliminate skeeter breeding grounds.