You Thought Sheepshead Bay's Post Office Was Bad?

A month-long survey of 10 Brooklyn post offices found some surprising horror stories, with long waits, rude agents, and “chaotic” atmospheres.

The survey was conducted by Assemblyman Dov Hikind spurred on by constituent complaints. The sample included Bay Ridge, Blythbourne, Cadman Plaza, Dyker Heights, Kensington, Kings Highway, Midwood, Parkville, Sunset Park, and Van Brunt post offices.

Among the observations Hikind’s staff noted are:

• Dyker Heights and Kings Highway locations regularly have 45-minute waits. The others averaged a 25- to 30-minute wait
• Van Brunt and Dyker Heights open their windows 15 minutes late, causing a line to backup
• Kings Highway was the most chaotic, with curt workers that failed to address consumer needs
• Midwood Post Office’s workers yell at customers for mistakes on forms
• The mailbox isn’t emptied frequently at Blythbourne, causing clients to wait in line to send mail

“It is unconscionable that customers, especially the elderly, are being forced to spend an inordinate amount of time to obtain something as simple as a roll of stamps or a money order,” Hikind said. “The United States Postal Service continuously hikes their rates, but the public is getting nothing in return.”

In addition, Vos Iz Neias’ online coverage of the survey has brought in dozens of complaints about other post offices. In addition to lines, a couple of readers have pointed out that at the Coney Island Avenue and Avenue I location, a “self-hating Jewish person” frequently yells at customers and has even told another Jewish person that the “nazis should have killed him because he did not fill out forms properly.”

Yikes! I don’t use the post office much (thankfully!), so I don’t know how our area locations fare in comparison to those in the study. What do you think? Any horror stories?