Fort Hunter postal pavilion should make pickups easier

PHOTOGRAPHER: Edward Munger Jr.

The U.S. Postal Service expects to install a mail pavilion to make it easier for residents forced to pick up their mail 6 miles away since the Schoharie Creek tore through the hamlet’s tiny post office building.

Residents have been picking up their mail at the Amsterdam Post Office since floodwaters from Tropical Storm Irene inundated the creekside neighborhood, damaging several homes, the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site and the post office at 274 Main St.

There’s been no decision to build a new post office.

The building that got flooded was owned by the state and leased to the post office. The state decided against repairing the building, so it was shut down altogether.

A new post office box pavilion is seen as a step toward bringing some normalcy back to as many as 70 box holders who are making the trip to the city.

“This is a partial solution, of course,” Postal Service spokeswoman Maureen P. Marion said Thursday.

Residents will still have to go to another post office in order to mail packages, buy stamps or money orders and take advantage of other services.

Weatherproof post office box pavilions are often seen at apartment complexes, Marion said.

“They keep the mail close to the community,” she said.

A new slab was built alongside the Fort Hunter firehouse to make room for the addition, fire district board member Jason Downing said.

The firehouse, which sustained damage after eight inches of water poured into the site, is gutted and needs flooring, a kitchen and painting, but it’s otherwise operable, he said.

Downing said the department intends to install some additional security lighting outside the firehouse at 351 Main St.

Downing said getting mail from Amsterdam has been a headache for him.

He’s used to picking up mail for the fire district and for his home, and he’s had difficulty getting all of the mail because of the need for either keys for the old post office boxes in Fort Hunter or authorization to pick up mail in Amsterdam.