The same customer added, “I have a postal box here. If they close this post office, I will have to change my address [for] all the people who send me mail.” Having later spoken to a post office official, the man added, “He said it will take several weeks. I guess there’s a leak. They’re on the roof now.”

 

A second customer, “Bobby,” a Norwood resident, said, “I think we’re so fortunate to have it. Hopefully, in the near future, it will be open. I know they were talking about closing it down.” He then urged the Norwood News to stay on top of the story. “I hope it stays open,” he added.

 

The exact date of reopening was unclear. Later, on Friday, July 2, a postal worker at the Van Cott branch was overheard telling customers the branch would be back open the following Tuesday [July 6]. As of that date, July 2, the mobile post office was nowhere to be found. On the same day, Xavier Hernandez, strategic communications specialist at USPS, told the Norwood News the branch would not reopen until July 11.

 

Hernandez said any residents with a post box at the Van Cott branch could pick up their mail at the Williamsbridge Post Office, located at 711 East Gun Hill Road, on the outskirts of Olinville, and that customers needing to conduct other types of business could also visit the Mosholu Post Office at 3464 Jerome Avenue in Norwood, or the Allerton Post Office at 2815 White Plains Road, south of the Parkside Housing Project. Hernandez made no mention of a closer post office branch located at 2963 Webster Avenue in Bedford Park.

 

Hernandez said of that closure, “The Postal Service continues to flex our resources to mitigate the human impacts of COVID-19. At this time, we can confirm that the Botanical Station Post Office (Webster Ave.) is operating regularly without interruption.”

 

Meanwhile, a postal worker who answered the phone at the Van Cott branch on Tuesday, July 6, was asked if they were open for business. He replied, “Yes we are.” When he was informed that the USPS press office was telling journalists the branch would not be open until July 11, he responded, “Thank you. I’ll let my manager know.” Asked if the branch had gotten rid of the foul odor and had fixed the water leak from 2019, the worker said, “Ahh, yeah.”

 

When contacted once again by telephone on July 6, and when informed that the Van Cott Station was in fact open, Hernandez said, “Not to my knowledge. I can confirm with the station manager but according to the schedule, there may be employees in the office today.” He was then informed that one resident and one employee both reported the branch as being open.