A public meeting was held to discuss the possible closure of the United States Postal Service’s Pinehaven Post Office on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at St. Matthews Baptist Church.
The Pinehaven Post Office resides within a neighborhood where many rely on public transportation, yet the USPS held a public meeting in a different postal code district to receive public comments regarding its closure. The City of North Charleston felt it was best to convene a public meeting in a central location, so all of the area’s residents had an opportunity to provide input.
We encourage the public to continue to send their comments to the local postmaster.
Timothy D. Shaw
Postmaster
United States Post Office
7075 Cross County Road
North Charleston, SC 29418
timothy.d.shaw@usps.gov
Two petitions were circulated and signed at the meeting.
Petition One
Petition Two
The following are comments received from the public meeting attendees:
Gretchen Wright
USPS told us to use the supermarket to buy stamps, but there are none in our area. This logic is flawed.
Elais Bartman
The next closest Post Offices are across the Ashley River and up Rivers Avenue. The lack of transportation of many of this area’s residents will keep them from being able to get to these Post Offices.
Herb Cunningham
The next closest branch is 5.4 miles away. We have a lack in mobility. The only way we have to reach the other Post Offices is to take a bus. Why are the disadvantaged shut down first. This is a slap in the face.
Mr. Olsen
A lot of senior citizens are in this community and depend on the Post Office. If things are so bad, how can the USPS spend millions on advertising with the NFL?
Stanley Smalls
This postal district is predominantly people of color and senior citizens. Why is the USPS targeting a disadvantaged area? Rivers Avenue is too far way for many. The initial public meeting conducted by the USPS should have been located in this community, not in another postal district.
Paulette Dunham
This Post Office has always been successful. It is unfair to remove it.
Sinclair Jenkins
The Rivers Avenue Post Office is very difficult to transverse. The traffic is terrible when crossing Rivers Avenue.
Clair Laughlin
If the Pinehaven Post Office services such a large area, then why would you close it?
Clinton Brantley
This is a moral issue. It is about services, accessibility, and our senior citizens. They all should be considered.
Harriet Brown
We have lost so many other daily conveniences, and the Post Office would be a final blow. Many of the area’s residents lack transportation.
Bill Stanfield
The lack of clarity on the criteria of the decision to close the Pinehaven Post Office is disturbing. There are more public transportation riders here than in any other area. This is becoming a civil rights issue by the USPS taking away from the disadvantaged.
Lannette Poor
This community has a lack of transportation and we need the Post Office in our community.
Ms. Chisolm
The US Congressmen that represent this area should be present, but are not.
Leatrice Eddy
Moving the Post Office would create chaos. The mail is already late, how much later can we expect to receive our mail?
Patricia Brown
This Post Office is in the middle of a community and provides many services past providing postage stamps. The decision to close the Post Office is based on a flawed criteria and the USPS should reconsider.
Vanderbilt Evans
A timeframe has not been adequately communicated. If the USPS is using crime as part of their criteria, they should not. The USPS provides a service that others cannot due to federal law. This Post Office serves several communities and a reason for its possible closure has not been given.
Kenneth Blake
Why not close another branch, like Sullivans Island where the affluent live, so this community can continue to be served.
Robert Lee
I have held a post office box at the Pinehaven Post Office for 20 years. Closing the Post Office is a disservice to our community.
Judy Miller
I feel the community needs to look at the legal ramifications.
Pearl Middleton
Other conveniences have vacated the area. Why is the Post Office taking this service away?
Bernard Walker
I live in Mount Pleasant, but volunteer at a public school in the area. Whenever something negative has to happen, it always seems to happen to the minority communities. Others should be taken into consideration. The USPS is spending money frivolously in other areas and needs to reflect upon itself. Leave this Post Office alone.
Miriam Fraser
It is possible to pay for other governmental expenses, but not this one. That is a shame.
Erica Fludd
I attended the first meeting held by the USPS, which should have been held in this community. If the mail carriers are out longer, then they run a greater risk. Will they deliver mail in the dark? The mail is already late.
Javon Mack
The USPS has done an inadequate job at distributing information about the closing. I knew nothing of the previous meeting. They deliver millions of letters everyday, but can’t notify the public of the meetings they are holding a meeting.
Nathaniel Shivers
I do not understand why the USPS is shutting down this branch. The word about this has not been spread sufficiently. We get so much junk in the mail, but the USPS did not use their full ability to notify us of the last meeting.
AJ Davis
It is very telling that no representative from the USPS is present. It does not make logical sense to close this centrally located Post Office. Many of the area’s residents are on fixed incomes and are unable to travel to other locations. There are still individuals in this community that are unaware that the Post Office may be closing.
Ms. Sparkman
Every time there is a spending cut, we are hit first.
The Pinehaven Post Office is located here:
View Pinehaven Post Office in a larger map
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