Citizens Argue Post Office is 'Fundamental' Component of Del Ray

Approximately 20 citizens expressed a wide variety of concerns about the potential closure of the at a community meeting held by the U.S. Postal Service Wednesday night at .

because it falls under criteria for evaluation by USPS as it attempts to scale back its retail network to cut costs.

Specifically, the Del Ray post office is being considered for closure because it makes less than $600,000 in annual revenue and five or more “access points” exist within two miles of the office, according to Dennis Voorhees, manager of postal operations in Virginia.

Access points were described as places that sell stamps or provide postal services, such as a bank, drugstore or office supply place.

The list of access points also included the larger post office located just a mile away from Potomac Station at 1100 Wythe Street.

Voorhees said closure of Potomac Station represents “about $1.3 million” in 10-year savings to USPS.

Renee Altman, owner of , argued that Potomac Station is underperforming because it has just one postal worker and the office closes for lunch each day between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. She suggested bringing on temporary help so the office could stay open during peak hours and later than 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Other citizens argued that eliminating the post office would mean taking away a “fundamental” and “historic” component of the community.

“This community has been built up,” said Marlin Lord, a Del Ray resident since 1966. “We got the drug dealers off the street and now there are strollers everywhere. … You count numbers. We count vitality.”

Lord also mentioned the importance of the post office once the Pulte development at Potomac Yard is completed. He said he believed numerous new residents would drive down E. Howell Avenue to use the Mt. Vernon Avenue post office.

Other citizens spoke of the importance of having a post office on Mt. Vernon Avenue for area seniors, local business owners and for maintaining Del Ray’s reputation as a highly-rated, walkable community within just a few miles of Washington, D.C.

Del Ray resident Maggie Rivers and Dennis Goris, who owns the building that houses the post office, said they believed Potomac Station is important for the immigrant population of Arlandria that walks to the post office to mail money orders.

“They really don’t have anywhere else to go,” Rivers said, adding that many might not have cars.

John Budzynski, acting district manager for USPS in Northern Virginia, said no decision has been made about closing Potomac Station.

“This is all good information that will be evaluated,” Budzynski told the assembled crowd. “Especially the info about Potomac Yard.”

Voorhees said a decision about closing Potomac Station would not be made until the end of the year. If a decision is made to close the location, a 30-day notice will be posted at the office. That decision can be appealed, which Voorhees said is a 120-day process.

Voorhees will be taking comments from customers until Dec. 14.

Comments can be mailed to the Post Office Review Coordinator at P.O. Box 3603, Winchester, Va. 22604.

In a message to Del Ray Patch, Alexandria Councilman Rob Krupicka said he is following the issue closely and believes “it is important we keep our post office.”

Krupicka was out of town Wednesday night. His aide attended the meeting.