Meng Urges Postal Service To Do More To Combat Mail Theft in Queens

December 13, 2022
Press Release

Congresswoman sends follow-up letter calling for additional security of green relay boxes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) urged the United States Postal Service (USPS) to do more to combat the theft of mail from green relay boxes in Queens.
In July, Meng wroteto the district manager who oversees postal operations in Queens calling for the Postal Service to address the problem. Although some changes were recently made, the Congresswoman wants to see them expanded, and in a follow-up letter to District Manager Frank Calabrese, called for additional steps be taken. They include:
  • Reducing the amount of time that mail is left in relay boxes to lower the chances of thieves stealing the envelopes inside;
  • Installing more locks on relay boxes including all that are located in Meng's congressional district; and
  • Notifying the public – specifically those impacted – when mail in relay boxes has been stolen.
"Unfortunately, mail theft has been a growing problem in my district over the past year," said Congresswoman Meng. "Constituents need to know that their mail, property and information is safe, and that is why the security of these relay boxes is so important. I'm glad that improvements were made for Queens residents following the letter I sent earlier this year. However, these upgrades must be expanded to help stop this continued theft of mail. I look forward to working with USPS to help make sure that borough residents no longer worry about their mail's security."
Meng's letter also highlights that mail theft has drastic consequences for letter carriers who deliver our mail. Letter carriers are frequently targeted, sometimes violently, by mail thieves, and this wave of thefts from relay boxes threatens their physical safety as well as the crucial service they provide to the public.
"Combatting this crime not only protects the public's interests but protects the brave letter carriers who are on the frontline of this crisis, and I thank Congresswoman Meng for taking the lead on tackling this issue," said Tony Paolillo, President of the National Association of Letter Carriers Flushing Branch 294 which represents postal workers throughout Queens. "For these men and women to have targets on their backs simply because of the mail they are trying to deliver is unacceptable. These letter carriers risked their lives in service to our communities through the COVID-19 pandemic, and they deserve to be protected. Every effort should be made to fully protect the letter carriers and the mail they deliver."
The dark green relay boxes are used to store mail and are located next to many of the blue collection boxes throughout the borough.
Meng's efforts to protect mail in relay boxes comes after the Postal Service retrofitted blue collection boxes in Queens with mail slots after she urged the agency to do so. The Congresswoman made the request in 2018 to combat the problem of ‘mail fishing' in the borough which is when criminals place string connected to a sticky material into the collection boxes, and ‘fish' out the envelopes. The narrower slots make it more difficult for thieves to steal the mail that is inside.
A copy of Meng's letter can be viewed here, and the text is below.
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Mr. Frank Calabrese
District Manager
United States Postal Service
160 Duryea Road
Melville, NY 11747
Dear Mr. Calabrese,
I write to respectfully request that you consider expanding procedures meant to protect mail from relay box theft in my 6th Congressional District located in Queens, New York.
As you know, my constituents continue to experience the consequences of a surge in mail theft from dark green relay mailboxes. The safety of my constituents' mail would be greatly benefited by the expansion of procedures that require letter carriers to notify their post office when they have arrived at a relay box to have the mail deposited. Currently, mail is deposited into relay boxes independent of the letter carrier. These new procedures, which the United States Postal Service (USPS) has implemented on a limited basis, reduce the time mail spends in a relay box thus, reducing the risk of theft.
I also encourage the USPS to continue improving the physical security of relay boxes. I applaud the recent implementation of additional locks to prevent theft and urge you to consider expanding these upgrades to all relay boxes in my district. Without these additional locks, relay boxes remain an easy target for theft. I respectfully ask the USPS to provide my office with a briefing on the extent of these retrofitting efforts in my district.
Finally, I encourage the USPS to continue in its obligation to notify the affected public when it is evident that a mailbox or relay box has been breached. When mail is stolen, time is of the essence, and a notification from the USPS can give victims the edge to combat fraud. Especially during the holiday season, I encourage the USPS to make this practice a priority.
Mail theft is a serious crime with dire consequences for its victims. Criminals can steal identities, remove money from bank accounts, and more. And mail theft has increasingly put postal employees at risk. Letter carriers have been the victims of violent robberies in New York City and across the country. In some instances, carriers have been targeted specifically for their arrow keys, which can open several relay boxes in a given area. We ask a great deal of letter carriers. After years of risking their lives through multiple waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing to persist no matter what, it is unacceptable that letter carriers now fear being attacked on the job. It is paramount for the USPS to protect letter carriers and the mail they deliver. USPS's failure to do so jeopardizes the trust the American people have put in them.
I appreciate your immediate attention to this matter. I look forward to your response detailing a course of action to prevent mail theft in my district.
Sincerely,