CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN RALLIES WITH WEST PARK COMMUNITY, POSTAL WORKERS TO SAVE WEST PARK POST OFFICE
Congressman Pat Ryan Rallies With West Park Community, Postal Workers to Save West Park Post Office
When West Park residents abruptly received notice that their post office would be closing, with no information or timeline provided on when services will resume, Ryan immediately wrote to USPS demanding the closure be reversed
He then launched a petition, which got more than 100 signatures in just a few days, showing the West Park community’s massive opposition to the closure
Today, Ryan joined local elected officials and community members to rally against the closure, which would place undue burden on the West Park community
WEST PARK, NY – Today, Congressman Pat Ryan joined members of the West Park community to rally against USPS’s proposed closure of the West Park post office. When West Park residents abruptly received notice that their post office would be closing, with no information or timeline provided on when services will resume, Ryan immediately wrote to USPS demanding the closure be reversed.
There is no home delivery in the area, so residents must travel to the post office daily to receive their mail, including medications, bills, and critical correspondence. Ryan launched a petition opposing the closure, which got more than 100 signatures in just a few days, and released initial results demonstrating the massive community backlash.
Members of the West Park community are encouraged to sign this petition, voicing their opposition to the closure of their post office.
“For many communities in the Hudson Valley, the U.S. Postal Service is a lifeline. That’s especially the case in West Park where it’s one of the few meeting places in town. The way this community has jumped into action has been so inspiring.,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “ In just a few days since launching the petition, I’ve heard from seniors worried about picking up their medication, small business owners who rely on the shipping services, and most of all from neighbors, worried about losing this center of their community. We need to make sure USPS understands just how vital this post office is to the West Park community. The crowd gathered here today speaks for itself. USPS owes the Hudson Valley better, and our community will keep fighting to save the West Park post office and ensure our neighbors don’t get left behind.”
“As a cradle West Parker, I'm horrified that the heart and hub of our hamlet could be removed from our lives. Closing or relocating West Park Post Office would erase our core connection with our neighbors and the rest of the world,” said Mary Ellison, West Park resident. “In rural areas like ours, if we are to survive, access to essential services must be maintained or improved, not reduced. When access to vital resources is blocked or eliminated, communities falter as residents struggle to secure essential services. West Park enjoys a strong history of community organizers and activists. That spirit will move us forward as we work to save our post office, the heart and hub of our hamlet. We are more than a zip code, more than our post office box numbers.”
“The Postal Service is part of our National Constitution and under the Postal Reorganization Act the Postal Service is what binds the people of this country together. The West Park Post Office is a perfect example of this. The Post Office has been the center of this community for 140 years! This community will fight back until they have their Post Office in West Park!,” said Diana Cline, President APWU Mid Hudson Area Local #3722.
“The post office is what I would consider to be both an important American service as well as a great tradition,” said Jessie Levey, West Park resident. “Mail connects people from afar and the post office connects people to their community. Losing our local post office is losing a central part of our West Park community.”
“The West Park Post Office has been a vital part of our close-knit community for over 125 years. If it were to close, we would lose the essential hub of our hamlet,” said Joan Burroughs, great-great-granddaughter of John Burroughs and president of the John Burroughs Association.
“Rerouting West Park residents to Highland creates an unnecessary hardship, particularly for our seniors and individuals with disabilities,” said Town Supervisor Roscoe Pecora. “We believe there is an opportunity to avoid that disruption, but we need the Post Office to engage and come to the table now. The West Park community isn't asking for special treatment—they're asking for collaboration from the USPS. The landlord has repeatedly stated that he is willing to enter a lease temporarily. We are simply asking USPS and its lease management contractor, JLL Properties, to come to the table, extend the lease, and give everyone the opportunity to work together on a long-term solution that keeps postal services in West Park.”
“The West Park Post Office provides an essential service to the hamlet and serves as the heart of this community,” said Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger. “There is no home delivery in West Park, and it would be extremely disruptive to residents’ lives if forced to travel to another town every day for their medications, bills, and other mail. Closing it with barely a month’s notice and no plan for continuity is simply unacceptable. I want to thank Congressman Ryan for leading the charge, together with the hamlet’s County representative, Legislator Amy Dooley, and I stand fully with affected residents in demanding that USPS keep postal service in West Park. Postmaster Tammy Firmbach and her team have served this hamlet with dedication, and we will fight to ensure that service continues without interruption.”
Senator Michelle Hinchey said, “Our neighbors in West Park deserve reliable, uninterrupted postal service in their community, and the federal government has an obligation to provide it, not take it away. The outpouring of concern from our residents about this planned closure speaks for itself: seniors who rely on the West Park post office for life-saving medications and Social Security checks, business owners who depend on it for shipping and correspondence, and hundreds of local residents who would face hardship if they lost access. In this rural community, West Park has served as both a valued local gathering spot and a connection to an essential government service. This decision must be reversed, and I will keep fighting alongside my partners at every level of government and in labor to find a way for West Park to stay open.”
“West Park has been my home for the last 9 years, and in that time, have fallen in love with my neighbors and my community,” said Claire Buglion, West Park resident. “The post office and Tammy is so much more than a small brick building with someone working behind a counter. Driving to Highland is not just an inconvenience and for many of my friends and neighbors a hardship. It is stripping away our identity as a town. I strongly oppose this unnecessary action, and demand that all actions be taken to stop it.”
“West Park is a strong, close-knit community, and having our own local post office—with Tammy as our wonderful postmaster—is part of what makes this small hamlet so special,” said Patricia Cutugno, West Park resident. “It’s places like these, and the people who serve them with kindness and dedication, that help make West Park feel like home.”
“I am a senior and I walk to the Post Office in West Park,” said Melissa Ortquist, West Park resident. “I get some of my medications through the mail. Going to Highland to get my mail would be a huge inconvenience for me and my neighbors. I am worried that I will not get my prescriptions on time. Highland is way out of my way.”
“I heard from a neighbor the West Park PO is closing in a month and we will be directed to Highland PO. It’s an unbelievable short amount of time to hear about it through the grapevine,” said Mary McCrindle, West Park resident. “My husband and I have lived here 39 years. Many personal and professional things associated with our PO box that are not easy to change/notify!!! We want our PO to stay open!!”
Ryan has had repeated success of pressuring USPS to save Hudson Valley post offices, and is demanding the agency prevent critical lapses in service for the West Park community and call off the closure of the West Park office.
Members of the West Park community are encouraged to sign this petition, voicing their opposition to the closure of their post office.
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