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Oct 16, 2024

'We really shouldn't have to have P.O. boxes,' say seniors seeking home mail delivery in Nicholson

When Jackie Sheehan needs to pick up her mail, she walks. It’s not terribly far — the equivalent of a few city blocks — but the walk takes time. Nicholson is not a city, but a rural Wyoming County

When Jackie Sheehan needs to pick up her mail, she walks.

It’s not terribly far — the equivalent of a few city blocks — but the walk takes time.

Nicholson is not a city, but a rural Wyoming County borough. There’s no sidewalk for much of Sheehan's route, and at one point she crosses a footbridge over a creek.

While Sheehan doesn’t mind the walk when the weather is fair, many of her neighbors at the Bridgeview Commons senior housing community on Harding Avenue could never make it to the post office on their own, whether on foot or by car.

The trek is impossible for three of her neighbors who are unable to leave their apartments, Sheehan said, and difficult for all of them.

Even though they were promised mail delivery when they moved in — and though all 12 apartments have mailboxes fastened to their front porches — going to a post office box is for most the only option to pick up their mail because of U.S. Postal Service rules governing rural delivery.

“We really shouldn't have to have post office boxes,” Sheehan said. “Of course, the post office claims that if the local post office can offer you post office boxes, then that's that.”

'Getting the runaround'

Since she moved to the apartments, which are managed by Trehab Community Action Partnership, Sheehan has been trying to get mail delivered to her door and to her neighbors.

Brenda Jennings, property manager at the Nicholson apartments, has been trying too.

In mid-September, Jennings said she has tried working with Nicholson’s postmaster to have the apartments added to a postal route in town, to no avail.

“We just keep getting the runaround. We've been trying to get mail delivery here since the end of October of 2023,” Jennings said. “We’re not getting anywhere. We have three tenants that have submitted paperwork from their doctors stating they cannot physically get to the post office, since they're in their 90s and they don't drive.”

U.S. Postal Service response

Jessica Wagner is the postmaster for Nicholson’s post office. She declined to be interviewed after multiple attempts to reach her.

Postal Service spokesperson Paul Smith says Nicholson can only provide P.O. boxes to a majority of residents because Nicholson is a “rural station,” so only a limited number of addresses are able to receive delivery.

He said Nicholson has had “rural delivery” since 1904.

In an email to WVIA News, Smith said the residents of Bridgeview Commons are receiving their P.O. boxes for free, and anyone with a medical hardship can fill out a form to receive delivery to their door.

'They didn’t deliver as she was told'

In mid-September, Jennings said three residents were trying to file hardship forms.

This week, Jennings said one resident had been receiving their mail consistently, but then didn't receive any for two days. One had filed the hardship form but hadn’t received any calls from the post office. Another filed a hardship letter after hurting their back and still has not received mail at their door.

“She had to send a family member to get a week's worth of mail since they didn’t deliver as she was told they would once she turned in paperwork,” Jennings said.

Carol Remick, Sheehan’s neighbor, is one of the residents trying to obtain an exception through the hardship form. She’s survived multiple strokes and cannot leave her apartment.

Remick’s daughter, Amber Martin, has been calling the Postal Service for months to get Bridgeview Commons added to a postal route.

“I would be thrilled if my mom could open her front door and reach out and get her mail,” Martin said. “I would like to see that happen for all of the residents there. These are all elderly residents.”

Now, Martin picks up her mother’s mail at the Tunkhannock house she lived in before Bridgeview Commons and brings it to her. But that’s not always convenient, and she worries about her mother missing a time-sensitive bill or notice due to her schedule.

Sheehan said that’s a worry for her as well. She doesn’t have a computer, so she can’t access any bills or medical notices online. She said in one instance, when she couldn’t make it down to her P.O. box quickly enough, some of her mail was sent back.

“I see the mail being delivered down on State Street,” Sheehan said. “And I thought, now, what would keep them from turning right, coming up here and delivering to the 12 units, and then going back down the hill?”

Meuser's office asking questions

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser’s office has been asking that question as well. In an email to WVIA News this week, Communications Director Matthew Hanrahan said they recently “became aware” of the lack of mail delivery to Bridgeview Commons.

Hanrahan said the congressman’s staff have spoken with the Wyoming County Commissioners and contacted U.S. Postal Service officials in Washington D.C., who are “looking into the situation.”

“They are now in contact with the Nicholson Post Office to identify what steps need to be taken to initiate mail delivery to individual units at Bridgeview Commons,” Hanrahan said.

For Martin, every resident getting their mail delivered is the only resolution.

“Every single one of those tenants there … I feel that elderly people, no matter where they are or their situation, they all need a voice or someone to speak up for them.” she said. “Not everyone has family or someone that can help them out.”