Residents of West Park recently found out their post office will temporarily close on July 24. The timeline for reopening remains unknown, leaving some concerned the closure could end up being permanent.
According to the U.S. Postal Service, the West Park post office's services will move to the Highland post office about five miles away. USPS said, "a timeframe for a return to West Park has yet to be determined."
U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, D-Gardiner, has written to Postmaster General of the United States David Steiner to address the closure and resident concerns. The letter is posted on a bulletin board in the Ulster County hamlet's post office.
“Last week, hundreds of my constituents abruptly received notice that their local post office would be closing,” wrote the Hudson Valley congressman. “There must be another solution that does not deprive this community of its local post office. Not only do folks depend on USPS to receive medications, official documents, legal notices, and personal correspondence from loved ones, but post offices also serve as important community centers.”
The United States Postal Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.
West Park resident Hans Tenbroeke said the quirky little post office is integral to the community.
Almost all the residents WAMC spoke to also mentioned Tammy Firmbach, who runs the office.
Everyone in the community knows the 20-year employee as Tammy, and she knows everyone.
“They’re my family," Firmbach said. "I’ve been here 11.5 years. Like I get invited to all their everything — birthday parties, family parties, you know, baby showers, weddings, everything.”
Firmbach said she’ll probably move to the Highland Post Office, so West Park residents will see her there. That being said, she is worried about what the seniors in the community will do when the West Park branch closes.
“They're not going to get their medicine on time, or they don't even know if it came," Firmbach said. "I mean, it's an inconvenience for the people. Definitely, I mean, a lot of people here were born in the house that they live in.”
Daniel Beckham moved to the hamlet five years ago from Pittsburgh. He said Firmbach and the other women who work at the post office know the community like the back of their hands, which helps when you don’t get mail delivered to your home.
“So people are able to have things delivered to there because we don't have physical addresses, and they'll still come to the post office, and because they know us here, they'll actually hold it," Beckham said. "Like they know what your PO box number is, so they'll make it available to you. Whereas probably when we get down there [to Highland], it's just going to go right back to the sender.”
