FORT GREENE — The USPS is actively hunting for new space to house two post offices located in central Brooklyn after landlords terminated their leases, officials said Thursday.
USPS officials promised those gathered at a Community Board 2 meeting Thursday night that it was their top priority to find buildings located near the current Times Plaza Station and Pratt Station Post Office locations.
"It's not like we want to vacate the areas, we know how important it is to keep those operations as close to where they are right now. We are vacating both of those properties because we have to," USPS official Frank Calabrese said. "The landlord will not renew our leases so we have to find alternate access."
The Times Plaza station — currently located at 542 Atlantic Ave. — requires 3,800-square-feet of space while the Pratt Station currently housed at 524 Myrtle Ave. needs 3,700-square-feet. USPS officials are also seeking locations that have space for loading docks and that can offer leases spanning a minimum of five years with an option to renew.
Real estate specialist for the post office, Joseph Mulvey, said that they have been searching for space for months using real estate broker CB Richard Ellis. While they were in talks with a "some property owners, it is too early to say if those properties would or would not work out," he said.
USPS was also trying to buy some time, by working with the landlords at both locations to extend the current leases while they looked for new space, Mulvey said.
The landlords at 524 Myrtle Ave. plan to develop a mixed-use apartment building while 542 Atlantic Ave. might become a seven-story hotel, according to Brownstoner.
The post office is seeking comment and suggestions for locations from the community that can be emailed to cb2k@nyc.rr.com or mailed to Joseph J. Mulvey, U.S. Postal Service, 2 Congress Street Room 8, Milford, MA 01757.
