NORTH SYRACUSE -- Today is the last day North Syracuse residents will be able to mail letters or packages at the village post office.
The U.S. Postal Service is closing the North Syracuse Branch today as part of a cost cutting measure. Instead of the North Syracuse branch, the postal service says residents can use the East Taft Road branch about two miles away.
North Syracuse's Mayor Diane Browning worries that getting to the Taft Road post office will be difficult for the seniors in the village many of whom don't drive. "We have many seniors. Over a thousand that live in our community, and many seniors that go through our community and they use the post office because it's easier to park in front and it's a shorter distance with walkers and canes," she says.
Glen Fulton is one of those North Syracuse seniors who is worried about the loss of the post office. "I've had my mailbox here since 1962. We have good service here. The post master in here is a wonderful person, a lot of older people like me want a secure place to have this post office," he says.
Mayor Browning recently mailed a petition to Washington with more than 800 signatures from North Syracuse residents asking the postal service to reconsider its decision, but says she got no response.
Business owners in the village are also concerned about the economic impact losing the post office will have on the village. Kevin Meaker, who runs a gas station right across the street from the post office, says the loss will hurt his business. "I think it's a really bad thing. I think it's going to hurt local businesses here in the area. It's definitely going to put a major hurt on the walking business that goes on here in the village of North Syracuse," he says.
North Syracuse isn't the only local post office to close as part of the cost cutting measure. The postal service is also closing the Elmwood Post Office in Syracuse later this month.
