JERSEY CITY — Freeholder Chairman Bill O’Dea said he strongly opposes the study aimed at closing the Post Office Branch on West Side Avenue and Union Street in Jersey City. He said he has spoken to Rep. Albio Sires, who also opposes the closing. O’Dea called the study ‘a sham.’
The U.S. postal service recently conducted a national survey in an attempt to close some post offices and save money.
O’Dea said that the closing of the facility would put an unfair burden on the residents of West Side Avenue and Greenville sections of Jersey City and act as a disincentive to future development along Route 440.
“Many people who are on fixed incomes rely on that facility as well as the business owners on West Side Avenue,” stated O’Dea.
O’Dea said that these studies are basically nothing more than window dressing to justify decisions that have already been made by higher-ups.
O’Dea pointed out at the same time that the federal government is undertaking a study to close the post office branch in Jersey City, they are building, less than a half a mile south, a new office building to house the Social Security Administration. “Why can’t they set aside some space in that building for a mini-post office branch?” O’Dea asked. “That way seniors could have the convenience of both services in one location.”
O’Dea noted that”The area around the Claremont light rail station, the NJCU site and Route 440 corridor are the next major development areas in Jersey City. We need to provide more convenient services for this area, not less,”
O’Dea praised Sires, who has sponsored a bill in Washington requiring notice, public hearings in the community, and non-financial justification whenever there is a proposed closing of a branch.
O’Dea said that right after Labor Day he will hold community meetings and begin a petition drive and letter-writing campaign to save a post office for West Side Avenue. Anyone interested in helping out can contact the Freeholder at 201-795-6001 or via e-mail at wodea@hcnj.us.