A small but spirited protest was held on Saturday morning, Aug. 22, to save Jerome Station Post Office, located at 2540 Jerome Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, from potential closure. Local resident, Pereta Rodriguez Ph.d., who said she relies on the post office for essential mail, initially asked three people to join her in saving her local branch, in solidarity with others around the country as part of a national day of protest to save the United States Postal Service. “I wanted to make sure that everyone knew what was at stake,” Rodriguez said.

“It’s not just the ballots, and there’s nothing political about your mail. There’s nothing political about your medicine, and there’s nothing political about social security checks.” However, none of the three could make it at the last minute, and so she enlisted the help of Rachel Bradshaw, the soon-to-be president of North West Democrats for Change. Bradshaw, who is also the current community engagement committee chair of Fordham Hill Owners Corporation, quickly rallied a group of about ten people who duly showed up to lend their support on the day.

Rodriguez said as they rallied outside the post office, their efforts were met with thumbs up by passersby and words of encouragement from customers who were making their way in and out of the building. Some even joined them. The protestors carried signs, some of which read, “Save our Post Office. We need our Mail, Checks, Medicine, Postal ballots.”

Bradshaw said that aside from the recent, nationwide controversy over lack of funding for the post office system, she had been concerned about the state of her local post office on Jerome Avenue for quite some time. “It could use a makeover,” Bradshaw said. “It could use more staff as is. Northwest Bronx Democrats for Change were very concerned if the post office didn’t get the funding – what would happen to those staff members that are already there, and just how much it would affect the community in general.”

The Washington Post reported on Aug. 22 that more than 800 community demonstrations at post offices across the nation took place on Saturday as part of a day of action organized against controversial changes to mailing operations. In recent weeks, aside from the inconvenience of dealing with delayed mail and medicines, citizens have become increasingly concerned that their mail-in ballots will not be received in time to vote in the presidential election in November.

Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., emergency coronavirus relief legislation had been stalled, including funding for USPS, and President Donald Trump had voiced concerns that widespread voting-by-mail would lead to voter fraud, though this assertion has since been discounted. Politico later reported on Aug. 23 that House Democrats passed a bill on Aug. 22 that would provide USPS with $25 billion in emergency funding, and block operational changes deployed by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a known supporter of the president.

Back in the Bronx, Bradshaw said that one postal worker informed her group that other Bronx protests took place on Grand Concourse, and at the Kingsbridge post office. As they protested, Bradshaw said the group observed just how much the Jerome Station post office is used, adding that it needs to be made wheelchair accessible and needs an aesthetic makeover. “Because of the age demographic, we do most of our stuff, of course, electronically but I grew up going to the post office,” she said. “The post office is still a way of life for all of us. It’s still a way of life for my mom. We still definitely need the post office. We’re just going to keep up on this to just ensure that that post office in general is getting what it needs.”

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.