A mailbox that many considered a part of Greenport’s rich history was removed this week to make way for a newer model that can accomodate larger envelopes and boxes, a representative of the United States Post Office said this week.
“The box was removed because it did not accommodate flats (large 8.5X11 envelopes) or small parcels, as other more modern boxes do. A new collection box, large enough to allow for mailing these items, has been placed about a block and a half down the road in front of the bank,” Christine Dugas of the USPS said in an email Thursday.
A letter-writing campaign and an outpouring of public sentiment weren’t enough to save the old-fashioned mailbox that stood for years on the corner of Main Street in Greenport, right outside Claudio’s.
According to Jan Claudio, the mailbox had stood, a familiar sight to residents and tourists alike, since 1935 — and was removed by the United States Postal Service on Tuesday.
“It’s been here forever,” Claudio said, adding that the blue, metal mailbox had been photographed many times over the years.
“We had known they were considering it for about a month, and there was a letter-writing campaign and a big push to try to help save the mailbox,” Claudio said.
The USPS, she said, said the reason for removing the mailbox was to provide a mailbox large enough for packages.
“It’s like willfully destroying a piece of history for no other reason other than that they could,” Claudio said.
The mailbox had even been restored about five years ago, Claudio said.
At Monday’s village board work session Village Attorney Joseph Prokop said the village would take possession of the mailbox and give it to the Business Improvement District.
Neither the BID nor the USPS immediately returned a call for comment.
Claudio was left saddened by the loss of a piece of Greenport’s rich past. “Everybody has a memory,” she said. “The ‘thunk,’ sound of the metal. Tourists showed their kids. It’s just an old-fashioned piece of Greenport, that still functioned, and they just took it away.”
