Skid Row's only post office has closed because of safety concerns - BERITAJA

Skid Row’s only station agency has closed aft what officials said were repeated break-ins and harm to worker property.

Homeless residents, galore of whom don’t person a car aliases are disabled, now person to recreation extracurricular of Skid Row to get stamps aliases message a package. The closure has prompted anger and vexation successful a organization that is utilized to being ignored.

“Don’t godforsaken us,” said Dwight Gaines, 65, who usually sleeps successful an encampment crossed from the now-shuttered station agency connected 7th Street. “People down present request services.”

Estela Lopez, who represents about 500 businesses arsenic executive head of the L.A. Downtown Industrial District Business Improvement District, said the metropolis seems to person fixed up connected fighting crime.

“Have we reached a constituent successful this metropolis wherever we are incapable to reside criminal activity, moreover erstwhile it threatens the correct of each resident to beryllium served by the Postal Service?” she said. “[Criminals have] already claimed the thoroughfare lights, occurrence hydrants. They person wreaked havoc connected metropolis infrastructure, and now taken distant the correct to postal services. … It’s surrender. We are surrendering successful Los Angeles.”

Estela Lopez, executive head of the Downtown Industrial District BID, points to a damaged replacement mailbox.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The 7th Street station agency adjacent the halfway of Skid Row was connected a database of locations being reviewed for “efficiency and financial feasibility,” Natashi Garvins, U.S. Postal Service strategical communications master for the Los Angeles area, said successful an email. The station office, which was connected the database because of “criminal and unsafe activities,” closed successful January.

“Multiple break-ins incurring harm to the installation — about precocious successful precocious January 2026 — on pinch harm to employees’ individual property, prompted an expedited closure owed to the information risks to group and spot astatine the location,” Garvins said.

The Skid Row station agency opened successful the 1990s, Garvins said, and served 364 P.O. boxes. Those pinch P.O. boxes person been redirected to a station office connected North Vignes Street adjacent Union Station, about 2 miles away. Closer is simply a station agency astatine 5th and Spring streets, connected the separator of Skid Row, about a mile from the aged station office.

“For folks who don’t person a car, autobus work is anemic and scary,” Lopez said. “If you’re disabled, things are harder, each of life is harder.”

A spokesperson for Mayor Karen Bass did not respond to a petition for comment.

The Downtown Women’s Center operates a time shelter that offers immoderate message services, including stamps and envelopes. But backing from the metropolis and region was precocious trim successful half, said the center’s main executive, Amy Turk.

“If this happened successful Beverly Hills, you would person heard about it,” she said. “It’s a organization that isn’t heard the aforesaid way.”

In his 10 years surviving connected Skid Row, Gaines visited the station agency astatine slightest doubly a month, mailing money to his family successful New Orleans to thief attraction for his aged mother. He sewage to cognize immoderate of the employees, moreover arsenic the hours were reduced.

The closure felt individual to him.

“It made maine consciousness for illustration they didn’t attraction about the group that they serve,” he said.

Lauren Mills, a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove said the lawmaker was unaware that the station office, which was connected the separator of her district, had been closed until informed by The Times past week.

At that point, Mills said, Kamlager-Dove’s agency submitted inquiries to the Postal Service asking about the logic for the closure and what is being done to alleviate the load connected customers.

“We ... will proceed moving to guarantee downtown businesses and residents person entree to convenient and reliable postal services,” Mills said successful a statement.

Meghan Kessler, extracurricular her shelter connected Skid Row, said she was disappointed that the station agency had closed. “It’s expected to beryllium a work to people,” she said.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Meghan Kessler, who has lived connected Skid Row since September, said the aged station agency was convenient.

When she mailed a notarized archive overnight to her father, who lives retired of state, she had to locomotion only a fewer blocks from her encampment connected 7th Street.

She said she was disappointed that the station agency has closed. She doesn’t person a car.

“It’s expected to beryllium a work to people,” she said.

On Thursday, Lopez walked from her agency to the closed station office.

On the way, her information squad called an ambulance for a man passed retired connected the thoroughfare and noted vulgar graffiti for their cleanup squad to screen up.

A metallic gross blocked the entranceway to the station office, and 2 encampments had sprung up. A man pulling a cart approached.

“Is the station agency closed?” he asked.

Lopez’s squad gave him directions to the nearest unfastened one. He thanked them and near quickly, saying he needed to commencement walking.

“Every organization should person a station office,” he called retired arsenic he went connected his way.