Surveys signal more post-office closings in N.J.

Besides the 677 branches that the U.S. Postal Service has targeted for closing, including three in South Jersey, five others here could be shuttered by January.

Surveys recently were mailed to customers in Lindenwold and Pine Hill in Camden County, Willingboro Plaza in Burlington County, and two others in Bridgeton in Cumberland County.

Raymond Daiutolo Sr., a spokesman for the Postal Service, said the surveys are the first steps taken to determine which branches should be merged.

Such reviews are part of "a normal process that postmasters and managers will do throughout the year," Daiutolo said. The goal is to "increase efficiency and save costs without compromising or degrading delivery service."

For folks like Shamain Grimes, a laid-off Cooper University Hospital employee, closing the Lindenwold branch would make life a little tougher. She walks across a quiet street to mail her job applications, buy stamps, and pay bills.

"I'd have to catch a bus," Grimes, 46, said yesterday as she stood outside the tiny branch that shares space in a small shopping center with El Pueblito Market, Uno Laundry, a 99-Cent Store, and the Discount Cigarette and Tobacco Convenience Store.

The next closest post office is in Clementon, about 1.5 miles away along the bustling, pedestrian-unfriendly White Horse Pike.

She also would miss the lone clerk, Darlene, who for more than a decade has "become family" to the neighborhood, Grimes said.

A "thorough and extensive review" would precede closing any branches or stations, Daiutolo said. Then the national staff would evaluate the proposals and decide.

Decisions on the South Jersey branches will not be reached before October, Daiutolo said. Closing would then take another 90 days, he said.

Unlike designated post offices, branches and stations are smaller retail outlets that might not have mail carriers assigned or workers who sort mail on site, Daiutolo said.

Nationally, the Postal Service is weighing whether to close or consolidate 677 branches or stations among its 38,000 properties. The Postal Service is trying to offset declining revenues as the demand for mail and related services plummets.

That list became public last week after it was given to Congress, and it sparked much debate.

Included are 15 branches and stations in Philadelphia, a branch in South Camden, and two in Trenton. According to the Government Accountability Office, which reports to Congress, the Postal Service will have a net loss of $7 billion at the end of the fiscal year next month. And it is projected to lose just as much over the next year.

Frank Murphy, acting postmaster of the Clementon Post Office, which includes the Lindenwold, Pine Hill, and Laurel Springs branches, sent letters last week to the 100 or so box renters at Lindenwold and Pine Hill.

"We told them we have post boxes here [in Clementon] and asked if they were willing to use the main office," Murphy said. The hours already have been reduced at those two branches, he said, with Pine Hill open only two hours a day, and Lindenwold five.

The Pine Hill branch is about two miles from Clementon.

Cliff Beamer, a retired warehouse worker from Lindenwold, sees the wisdom of consolidation, though he admits he would miss his local branch.

"It's necessary. The post office is not making any money because people are going to Twitters and using computers and stuff. And people can now go to convenience stores . . . to mail their bills," he said. "They're hurting the post office, too."