USPS JSQ vs USPS Five Corners: Which One is in Trouble?

June 19, 2009, at 10:55 pm | One comment

There are two Post Offices here in Journal Square area of Jersey City: one on the busy Newark Avenue (USPS Five Corners Station) in the midst of various local businesses and one on Bergen Avenue (USPS Journal Square Station).

In my 7.5 years here in this district, I’ve never been inside the USPS Five Corners Branch. So I can’t comment on their services. On the other hand, USPS JSQ Branch is closer to home so I use it whenever necessary. The lines are always long, probably the result of only 2 windows available out of 5. I noticed that the Parcel window is always closed at least whenever I went there.

Earlier this week, there was a news saying that some USPS will likely face closures.

USPS officials said that they are studying more than 3000 branches nationwide to identify candidates for closure. The list will be trimmed down to “300 outlets or so”.

Snippet of the news:

…The postal service will likely zero in on small, underutilized offices in big cities – including Jersey City, Elizabeth, Paterson and Newark, which has 16 locations alone – when it finally crafts a list of offices to close, said George Flood, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service in New Jersey… Source: NJ.com

Do you See a Decline of Mail Business in JSQ?

In the same news article, it was mentioned that in fiscal 2008, Flood said: “mail volumes were down 4.5 percent, or 9.5 billion pieces, with a 14 percent drop predicted in the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30.”

As I see it, the following are two main reasons why USPS mail volume is declining:

Technology – It’s no question that the internet boom has affected mailing business. Just ask yourself: how often do you go to the post office to mail someone a letter? How do you pay your bills?

Competition – FEDEX, UPS, DHL to name a few. Do you trust USPS to deliver your important documents? How many companies and businesses do not use USPS for their big shipment?

Should USPS Close Outlets Here in JSQ?

Jersey City is a diverse town. Here in Journal Square, you’ll see various ethnic communities. We have Egyptians, Indians, Asians, African-Americans, Hispanics, Italians, and Irish to name some. Many people still rely on USPS to send mails and letters to their countries of origin.

How about age? Based on Jersey City’s General Demographics Statistics, half of Jersey City’s total population of approximately 600K are between ages 35 and 85 years old (and over). How many of those do you think know how to use the internet? I am under the assumption that these residents are more accustomed to walking or driving to the post office for their bills, letters, postcards, money orders and others. Walk by JSQ Branch and see how many people are waiting in the line.

But are these reasons good enough to keep the stations open?