Fear for Carriers’ Safety Halts Mail to Housing Project

To ensure the safety of mail carriers, the U.S. Postal Service said Thursday that it had temporarily stopped mail delivery to residents of a 558-unit low-income housing project in Long Beach after two gun-toting men scared a letter carrier earlier this week.

The carrier was not injured or threatened, but she immediately returned to the post office after the two suspected gang members carrying handguns ran past her Monday afternoon.

“She was visibly upset,” said area postal manager Raymond Aguillard. “The carrier feared for her life. If they had started firing, it could have hit her.”

Some residents of the Carmelitos Housing Project in North Long Beach are also upset, but for different reasons.

Earlier this year, they complained of being “walled in” when school administrators erected a 10-foot concrete wall between the project and adjoining Lindbergh Junior High School, where teachers and students complained regularly of hearing gunshots. Two years ago, a student playing after school was hit in the chest by a stray bullet and nearly died.

At the time, the residents questioned whether a wall was the answer to battling high crime in the area. Now, they say, they are being inconvenienced because of postal officials’ reaction to Monday’s incident, and they still don’t see additional police protection.

“I think this was blown out of proportion,” said Dorothy McAleavey, president of the Carmelitos Awareness Committee, a tenants’ organization.

But postal officials said their reaction was consistent with their policy to halt deliveries any time they feel there is a danger to a mail carrier.

Other Circumstances

“We curtail mail when there are dogs on the route,” explained postal service spokeswoman Kay Behnke. “But it is not a frequent occurance.”

Postal officials said they are working on alternatives, including the possibility of centralizing all the mail boxes near the Carmelitos administration office.

In the meantime, beginning today, residents will be able to pick up their mail at the management office in the project between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Since Monday, residents have had to pick up their mail at a nearby post office.

McAleavey complained that the new arrangement would inconvenience residents who work and those who are disabled. Aguillard said special arrangements could be made for people who can’t pick up their mail in the day, but he could not provide specifics.