Neighbors say they are going days at a time without getting mail

ATLANTA — People in southeast Atlanta’s Grant Park neighborhood are furious it’s taking so long to get their mail from the United States Postal Service.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Wendy Halloran obtained documents that reveal the problem started as late as last summer with the USPS promising those who complained they’d improve service.

Grant Park neighbor Rob Smith wanted to know if his was an isolated case when it came to mail delivery so he posted on Facebook asking his neighbors.

“So, I put the Facebook post up to ask the neighbors up and down the street all over Grant Park and Cabbagetown if anyone was getting their mail and I was overwhelmed with the response. We’re in the same situation with a lot of other people,” Smith told Halloran.

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Smith, a realtor, associate broker and legislative aide, has serious concerns for his neighborhood.

“When people don’t get their mail, it’s one thing. When people don’t get their checks, it’s another. When people don’t get their medications, when people don’t get their things they need to live on from day to day that are all in the U.S. Postal Service and depending upon that service to deliver them to their houses, that’s pretty dire,” Smith told Halloran.

His neighbor Eric Schneider saw the Facebook post and chimed in. Schneider filed a complaint last summer and contacted his congressman, Rep. John Lewis.

A letter written by Samuel Jaudon, District Manager of the Atlanta District to Rep. Lewis and Schneider placed blame on “route realignments” that caused daily mail delivery in the Grant Park neighborhood to take place later in the afternoon.

It went on to say, “Management is continually working to improve service by monitoring the mail and the carriers’ performance for a period of time to ensure prompt and accurate delivery.”

“It actually got worse since we contacted them in August,” Schneider said. “There are literally hundreds of people on social media here in Grant Park talking about not receiving their mail.”

Alyssa Kopp also lives in the Grant Park neighborhood.

“I want to make sure people understand that it’s not just a birthday card not getting here on time, I work from home; my paychecks don’t get here in a timely manner, people’s medications aren’t showing up, this is important,” Kopp told Halloran. “Packages that don’t show up when they’re supposed to, outgoing mail isn’t picked up, it’s a real mess.”

Kopp showed us a birthday card her mother-in-law sent to her son, Kopp’s husband. The postmark shows it arrived in Atlanta on Jan. 11 but she said it wasn’t delivered until Jan. 23.

“Two weeks to get a piece of local mail. It’s ridiculous,” Kopp said.

Jay Botwinick operates a small accounting firm in Grant Park. He had some choice words for the USPS.

“I think it’s a crime against the taxpayer,” Botwinick said.

Botwinick maintains he and his wife have never had a problem with the mail until his beloved mail carrier retired.

“We didn’t notice really such a degradation until the last few months, last six months or a year, that it’s just been horrible. We don’t get our mail for a week at a time. We don’t get our bill payments,” Botwinick said.

He said it’s problematic for his business in that they are waiting on important tax information and client payments.

Grant Park resident Larry Keller sent Halloran his concerns in an email. He said he stopped receiving mail much of the time in late October.

Keller said he went to the branch post office early November and told the clerk, “I'd like my accumulating mail that wasn't being delivered."

Keller said she returned with a big stack. He also said he noticed in the days leading up to the Nov. 7 election that there was a decline in the number of political mailers from mayoral and city council candidates.

He recalls getting several after he voted that day. Keller says, "I think those candidates might have felt ripped off by the USPS had they known they were still delivering political mail so late."

Keller didn’t mince words about the quality of service.

“I've lived in Decatur, Georgia, San Diego, Long Beach, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Montgomery, Alabama, Denver, Philadelphia and Allentown, Pennsylvania and I've never seen USPS incompetence at this level. Hurricanes in South Florida pre-empted delivery, as did 9 inches of snow in one day in Philly, but otherwise my neighbors and I have almost always gotten mail delivered six days a week. What's happening here is extraordinary,” Keller said.

All of those who have complained acknowledge the Grant Park neighborhood can be somewhat of a difficult route for mail carriers due to the older homes which have steps and hills to get up to the mail boxes.

Botwinick puts the onus on the USPS, saying, “It is up to the post office to solve that problem.”

Rachel Eisaman also lives in the neighborhood. She said during the snow storm in early December 2017 she ran into a female carrier.

The carrier "said that the stairs to our house were really slippery and she was uncomfortable climbing them because she had just had back surgery. I apologized to her and assured her we had salted the stairs so it would be less troublesome.  The next delivery day, our mail was set on the corner of our front wall. I was horrified, of course, and made my first complaint then,” Eisaman said.

Last Tuesday, Jan. 16, Eisaman said she had not received mail in 10 days so she went to the post office on Pryor Street to complain.

Halloran contacted the Postal Service in Atlanta in search of answers.

She received a statement from Rick Badie, Strategic Communications Specialist for the USPS, saying:

“The Postal Service is committed to timely, consistent mail delivery. For reasons often beyond our control, delivery times can vary due to traffic issues and events like the inclement weather we endured last week. That said, we are aware of delivery concerns in the Grant Park area and we have put processes and personnel in place to identify and correct deficiencies in city delivery operations."

“We appreciate the customers who contacted us to discuss mail delivery concerns and encourage others to do the same. To reach a postal representative, please call 800-275-8777 to share general concerns, complaints and compliments.”

But those affected said it’s been going on for a long time and feel blaming it on inclement weather and traffic is dismissive.

“It would be great for somebody that has a real voice to speak up for those of us down here who are not being heard and who are not being taken seriously,” Kopp said.

Halloran’s reporting prompted Rep. John Lewis to issue a statement, saying:

“It is a shame and a disgrace that the people of my district cannot get the mail service they are entitled. I’m diligently working to see that this problem gets resolved. I will do everything in my power to see that proper mail service is restored.”

Cox Media Group