Undelivered mail problems hit part of JP

Several areas of Jamaica Plain have had problems with undelivered mail in recent weeks. St. Rose, Boylston and Jamaica Streets, as well as Robinwood and Spring Park Avenues, have been reportedly affected.

Maureen O’Connor, a St. Rose Street resident, said in an email to the Gazette she did not have mail delivered for four days starting on Jan. 17.

“I’ve lived on Saint Rose for 28 years and this has never happened before,” she said. “I recall one or two days when, understandably, the JP post office didn’t deliver mail because of a blizzard. Having said this, I recognize how difficult a postal worker’s job is, and wonder if this situation is partly due to cutbacks in staff or purely a managerial issue, or both.”

On St. Rose area neighborhood email lists, residents reported being told by letter carriers that mail was delivered to a local collection box, but then not distributed to houses. That mail was returned to the post office and only later delivered by other carriers, including one from the West Roxbury post office, the residents said they were told.

Melissa Lohnes, spokesperson for the United States Postal Service (USPS), said the matter is being looked into.

“Our investigation into this situation is incomplete at this time,” she said in an email to the Gazette. “However, delivery to this neighborhood has resumed. A small quantity of mail that appeared to have been mishandled earlier this week has now been delivered.”

O’Connor said she and several neighbors contacted local U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch and the JP post office to complain. She said some people felt they received contradictory information from the JP post office about the delivery problems.

The Gazette contacted O’Connor on Jan. 27 and she said she had received mail for the past several days.

This is not the first time JP has been hit with mail delivery problems. Several areas in 2011 experienced irregular mail delivery when the USPS redrew some routes, forcing carriers to handle larger areas in the same amount of time.

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