The hustle and bustle of the holiday season came to an abrupt stop for more than a week at three local post offices in the Norwood and Allerton sections, after the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced rain from a recent storm flooded the three locations.

The three local post offices reopened Dec. 3 after being closed days before Thanksgiving. The Mosholu Post Office at 3464 Jerome Ave. posted a sign on the iron shutter gate reading, “Closed due to flood.” The paper sign was torn in half a day later.

USPS spokesman Xavier Hernandez confirmed Mosholu Post Office, along with the Van Cott Post Office at 3102 Decatur Ave. and the Allerton office at 2815 White Plains Rd. were also closed. They have since reopened with Hernandez saying the offices were under “an emergency suspension of services due to water damage.”

Though the three post offices were operating once again, one postal worker at the Webster Avenue branch near Bedford Park Boulevard seemed confused, asking, “If they’re open, then why are they still sending people here?”

The Webster Avenue location was one of several post offices that had to manage the load of new customers. At the post office at 2549 Jerome Ave. in Fordham, hordes of customers jammed the office, making it difficult to enter or exit the building.

Outside that Jerome Avenue branch, Bedford Park resident Issac Ferris had just picked up some holiday packages, when he fumed, “I was in there, it felt like federal prison.”

“Three fights broke out–two old ladies–they kicked them out. It took me almost three hours to get my packages. Déjà vu,” said Ferris, referring to the Nov.15 storm that gridlocked the city and possibly shut the three post offices.

As days without regular postal service went on, questions and concerns were raised over the timing and the number of post offices that went down at once.

One elderly woman visiting the Mosholu location claimed, “Last year, the same thing happened and they closed. I had to go to [East] Gun Hill Road to send a letter.”

Many customers also headed to the Williamsbridge Station at 711 E. Gun Hill Rd., which extended its hours to 7 p.m. Meantime, a mobile post office was parked in front of the Bronx General Post Office at 558 Grand Concourse.

Grand Concourse resident Emilio Lopez was more understanding, though admitting “it’s an inconvenience. [T]hey’ve got to do what they’ve got to do. It’s better having a safe environment than a bad one…we just have to adjust,” said Lopez, who was sending out his rent checks.

On why the post offices all suddenly went down, Hernandez of USPS said, “It’s unclear if we can point to a single event as the cause, but weather is always a factor, and as soon as issues were identified, managers took swift action to avoid safety concerns for our employees and our customers.”

Expressing his frustration, Alberto Nuñez, a resident of East 208th Street, blurted out, “It’s pretty awful, especially for the people who live locally. It’s kind of a pain in the ass to go all the way down Gun Hill Road and to come here with all your packages. That’s crazy.”