The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Update: There are no plans for United States Postal Service officials to meet with township representatives about the Franklin Boulevard post office on April 22, according to a USPS spokesman.
Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad (D-At Large) has said such a meeting was taking place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the church, and some community leaders also expected there would be a meeting.
But USPS spokesman George Flood said in an email that USPS officials met with the community in 2012, and the results of that meeting, as well as a facility study, were posted in July and August 2013.
“We’ve had a public meeting and solicited community input,” Flood wrote. “It would be inconsistent with the regulations that are guided by federal law to participate in an additional public meeting outside the existing process.”
Regarding whether there would be any layoffs due to the post office closing, Flood would only say that “the reassignment of the employees will be made in accordance with the National Labor Agreement.”
The USPS has leased the Franklin Boulevard site since 1965, Flood said. He said there were no negotiations to renew the lease as a result of the 2012 facility study, which resulted in the decision to close the office.
Original Story: The Franklin Boulevard Post Office will close at the end of business on May 15, a United States Postal Service spokesman said April 16.
“In anticipation of the expiration of the lease in August, services will be suspended at the Franklin Station on May 15, 2015 at 4:30 p.m.,” USPS spokesman George Flood said in an email. “Full retail and Post Office Box services are being provided to the community at the nearby Somerset Post Office at 500 Demott Lane. Mail delivery to residents and businesses remains unaffected.”
Flood said a community meeting was held on Feb. 8, 2012 to discuss the “possible discontinuance of the Franklin Station.”
Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad (D- At Large) said at the April 12 council meeting that an April 28 meeting with USPS representatives had been set at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens for 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Rev. DeForest Soaries, FBLC’s senior pastor, said earlier this year that he would like to buy the post office building and erect a new building that would offer veterans’ housing. a health care facility and financial literacy services.
Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad (D- At Large), said in an email that closing the branch would “inconvenience a lot of people.”
“There are a lot of people who depend on this Post Office, in the most heavily populated part of town,” he wrote. “Many elderly residents depend on it. Many residents don’t drive and walk to it, to get money orders to pay their monthly bills. It’s closing will inconvenience a lot of people.”
“We hope to plead to the Postal Authorities on April 22 at the First Baptist Church,” Prasad wrote. “We urge all residents to turn out and let them know how badly the closing will effect all of us local residents.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
