A USPS spokesperson said when applicable, customers, apartment property management and homeowner associations are responsible for maintaining cluster box units.
SAN ANTONIO — There’s a renewed push led by Congressman Joaquin Castro to replace broken mailboxes nationwide in an effort to restore faith with the United States Postal Service.
A letter addressed by Democratic and Republican lawmakers urges U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to address concerns expressed by residents who’ve struggled to get their mailboxes repaired and replaced.
“For over a year, thousands of our constituents have not had functional mailboxes after USPS suddenly abandoned a longstanding practice of maintaining and replacing their community cluster boxes used for centralized mail delivery. Our offices have received many requests for assistance from constituents who are no longer able to count on USPS for reliable mail delivery,” the letter reads.
The letter mentions more than a dozen San Antonio communities that have reported issues with their cluster mailboxes being broken into.
Long gone are the days of picking up the mail at the community mailbox for Denis Atkinson and his wife. They live in the Parkwood neighborhood, which is part of an HOA (Homeowners Association). Over the past few years, the Atkinson’s have relied on a PO box in Helotes to retrieve their mail.
“Which is very inconvenient. We can walk to this but we don’t because of the theft,” Atkinson said. “The one down the street was destroyed and was out of commission for months.”
A spokesperson with the U.S. Postal Service stressed the “security and sanctity of the mail is of paramount importance.”
In a statement, the USPS noted this mission of ensuring security applies to the Cluster Box Units (CBU) as well.
“Postal Service guidelines specify that the purchase, installation, maintenance, repair and replacement of mail receptacles are the responsibility of the customer; or apartment property management companies and HOA, where applicable,” the statement said.
Bill Renton, who lives in the Levy Townhomes HOA community, said some neighbors have resorted to PO boxes because of a history of vandalism and theft impacting the mailboxes.
“We’re told the boxes are ours, we’re a small community, we can’t afford to put new boxes in,” Renton said. “We’ve tried to get it fixed for several years now. Haven’t gotten any progress.”
The HOA is in the process of figuring out what camera system they’ll invest in to monitor the mailboxes. In the meantime, they’ve installed a light to deter thieves.
The bipartisan letter referenced the USPS providing new mailboxes for the Copper Canyon neighborhood, which KENS 5 reported on.
Surveillance video captured thieves on multiple occasions breaking into the cluster boxes and taking off with as much mail as they could carry.
“The USPS has inconsistently provided new cluster boxes to certain neighborhoods while leaving others without functional mailboxes,” the letter states. “USPS’s actions highlight their inconsistent application of policy and undermine the public’s trust in a vital government service. Our constituents deserve consistency from the USPS and are rightfully wondering why some neighborhoods receive a new cluster box while others watch without any remedy in sight.”