QUEENS — The post office on Archer Avenue in downtown Jamaica has been moved three blocks away in order to make room for the city’s plan to redevelop the area near the AirTrain station.
Postal customers who went to the post office at 14721 Archer Ave. this weekend, saw a sign on the gate directing them to go to a new location at 97-03/05 Sutphin Blvd. between 97th and Liberty avenues, which opened on Saturday.
It took the United States Postal Service several months to find suitable space nearby in order to accommodate the city’s $50 million "Station Plaza" project.
The project includes widening Archer Avenue in order to create broader sidewalks and new turning lanes for buses as well as creating pedestrian plazas near the AirTrain hub, according to the city Economic Development Corporation's website.
The city is currently in the process of acquiring privately owned property along Archer Avenue for the project.
The "Station Plaza" project is expected to begin in 2 to 3 years and may take up to 5 years to complete, according to the city.
There are also plans to build a 580-unit apartment complex and a 24-story hotel at the intersection of Sutphin Boulevard and Archer Avenue, which is already one of the busiest and most congested corners in the neighborhood.
The new post office will be open Mon. through Fri. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
