CLINTON HILL — The Pratt Post Office officially closed in late October but its replacement site is still under construction — forcing residents to collect and send packages at a post office in Bushwick, more than a mile away.
The lack of postal services in the immediate area was announced via a notice on the post office door — causing outrage among neighbors, many of whom say that the US Postal Service should provide a temporary mobile office until the new location opens.
Al Gaywood, who lives in the nearby Willoughby Walk Co-Op Apartments, said the gap in services and lack of mobile unit is especially hard on the elderly.
"They don't care about us," he said. "This is very inconvenient — how will we pick up our mail?"
Gaywood was one of five people who attempted to go into the post office over the span of 30 minutes on a rainy Monday afternoon. One man held packages over his head to keep dry and cursed under his breath as he ran back to his car.
Gaywood, who does not drive, worried about how he would get to the temporary site, which according to the notice is located at 47 Debevoise St.
"I can't get all the way out to Bushwick — that would cost money," he said.
The USPS announced that they were looking for a new space for the Pratt Post Office after developers bought the building at 524 Myrtle Ave. in the summer of last year and declined to renew their lease. They plan to turn it into a mixed-use apartment building.
At the time, USPS officials told residents they were "committed to finding a suitable location in the immediate vicinity" and just months later signed the lease on the ground floor of 609 Myrtle Ave., five blocks from the original location.
But the building is a new development and not yet ready for tenants. It is unclear when construction will be complete.
The owners of 609 Myrtle Ave. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, who also lives nearby and has been a vocal advocate for keeping postal services in the neighborhood, said she has received many complaints about the post office's closure and that she has also been personally affected.
"I recently tried to mail a certified letter only to find they had closed with no open locations nearby," she said. "I was surprised to see there was no mobile unit available to residents."
The USPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
