Postal Service To End Mail Processing In Western New York?

More than ten years ago, officials from the United States Postal Service were floating the idea of closing the Buffalo Mail Processing and Distribution Center that's located at the Main Buffalo Post Office on William Street. At the time, Postal officials cited the need for the USPS to save money, and the idea of consolidating mail operations into a more regional facility made sense to them due to reported declines in first-class mail use.

After several years of debate and study, the decision was made to leave the center open but move some weekend mail processing to the Rochester Processing and Distribution Center from the Buffalo facility.

While the Buffalo facility was allowed to remain open, the Postal Service did not stop looking for ways to save money, including closing other Processing and Distribution Centers (including revisiting the idea of closing the Buffalo center).

After a more than 11-year reprieve, the Buffalo Mail Processing and Distribution Center may be on the chopping block again.

Is The United States Postal Service Going To Close The Buffalo Main Post Office on William Street?

According to a letter distributed by the American Postal Workers (APWU) Local 374 that has been circulating on social media, postal service officials are planning to hold a public meeting to explore closing the facility once again. USPS officials recently completed a study they have been doing on mail processing in the area. Buffalo appears to be among five cities planned to have their mail processing consolidated with other cities in their region.

• Buffalo, NY P&DC consolidated into Rochester, NY P&DC,
• South Charleston, WV P&DC consolidated into Pittsburgh, PA P&DC,
• Eastern Maine (Hampden) ME P&DC consolidated into Scarborough, ME P&DC,
• Fort Myers, FL P&DC consolidated into Tampa, FL P&DC, and
• Lubbock, TX P&DC consolidated into Amarillo, TX P&DC.

The Buffalo Mail Processing and Distribution Center moved into its current William Street location in 1963 after vacating the Old Main Post Office downtown (now ECC City Campus). If the postal service location is closed, it would constitute a big blow to Buffalo's job market.

There May Be A Public Meeting To Discuss The Potential Closure

In the letter from APWU, the Postal Service is planning a public meeting for Thursday, January 25, 2024, at the downtown Central Buffalo Public Library from 3 pm to 5 pm.

Different members of the Western New York community who have been made aware of this meeting are concerned that the lack of public notice regarding these charges is an attempt by government officials to prevent the community backlash that occurred a decade ago.

We'll provide more information regarding this as we learn more.