There are a lot of post offices in New York City, from grand Beaux Arts gems to inspiring Art Deco projects. A survey of New York post offices can offer a look at the changing tides of civic architecture and urban planning in the five boroughs. Or, entering a post office can mean leaping into a shadowy vortex of shoddy service and lost packages. It’s really one or the other.
North Brooklyn’s post offices have gained some notoriety for being less than user-friendly. Greenpoint’s own branch, the Greenpoint Post Office (66 Meserole Avenue) became a crime scene in October when one employee was charged with stealing packages, electronics and nearly $10,000 worth of stamps over a two year period.
But even a stamp heist can’t complete with the goings-on at Williamsburg’s South Fourth Street Post Office (263 South 4th Street), a location Yelp users have called “The Bermuda Triangle of post offices” and “Hell personified in a post office.”
The branch has received one star on Yelp, and a total of 283 scathing reviews. Is it the worst post office in the city? Many aggrieved users seem to think so. Want to show the branch a little love? Have a thing for post offices no dower mail carrier can dampen? Sound off with positive vibes for the Williamsburg PO in the comments.
Talk to the hand! Chairperson Dealice Fuller raises her hand at the CB1 Meeting on December 5, 2017
Last night, the Swinging 60’s Senior Center (211 Ainslie Street) hosted the final CB1 meeting of 2017, and despite the crummy weather and end of year throwaway vibe, the room was fairly full. If you’ve been following our lighthearted coverage the past few months, you are probably aware of how fun these meetings can be to watch, especially for neighborhood nerds who don’t feel like schlepping a few blocks to attend. And that’s also because you can watch the livestream from the comfort of your couch via PBS Thirteen on YouTube while you pop in a frozen Roberta’s pizza and down some nice wine from Dandelion (just me?) while yelling things at the screen like, “That man’s head is too big for his body!” (also, just me?). This particular meeting had a whole 26 people tune in to the livestream, and I have to say I’m thankful that Thirteen disabled the chat feature—a few meetings ago there was a troll on there typing in dirty words at random intervals, in a display of truly demented deference for locals getting organized and actually giving a shit about where they live.
Chairperson Dealice Fuller is one of the main reasons you should be watching the CB1 meetings, because she throws some amazingly timed shade. Last night was no different, so here are a few of her best gems:
“When I don’t see faces that often, I don’t remember names that well.” –Dealice Fuller (regarding a person in the audience who she didn’t quite recognize, and then an 80s sitcom-type “Ooooohhhhhhhhh….” [as in ‘Damn, that was cold’] went through the crowd)
“Please. How are you gonna have a meeting when people are talking in the middle of the floor?” – Dealice Fuller (to people chitchatting in the audience)
“Marty, we can’t have that, you know better.” –Dealice Fuller (Get ‘im!)
“We don’t know if we’re gonna wake up tomorrow and find the world still here.” –Dealice Fuller (on whether unexpected world events will interrupt future committee meeting dates)
