Postal Service not following law in sale of historic sites: report

Inspector General says mail deliverer does not track its own properties

140-158 East 149th Street
140-158 East 149th Street

Some lawmakers are hoping to halt the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to sell several of its historical buildings, following an internal report finding that the agency does not track its properties.

The Postal Service has not adhered to federal laws that govern the sale of the buildings, according to the inspector general’s report released yesterday. The agency is looking to sell many of them as a result of low mail volumes.

Representative Jose Serrano of the Bronx had requested the internal report as well as U.S. Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which also advised against the sales. He and other lawmakers are pushing to stop the sale of the Bronx General Post Office at 140-158 East 149th Street and 15 other buildings in the borough.

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“We cannot continue to let the Postal Service sell off public properties without adhering to the law or to their own policies,” Serrano told the New York Daily News.

Officials at the Postal Service said they are aware the agency owns 1,900 historic buildings. [NYDN]Mark Maurer