Mail centers consolidated, some jobs lost

NEWBURGH — New York Congressman Maurice Hinchey will challenge the U.S. Postal Service's consolidation plans that include eliminating nearly 400 jobs at a mail processing center in his district.

The plans include closing the processing center at Stewart International Airport in the Orange County town of Newburgh, which employs about 385 workers.

The final plans announced on Feb. 23 also affect processing centers in Binghamton, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Queens and Plattsburgh. When the original list was released in December, the processing center in Nassau County was also being studied but the Postal Service decided to keep it open.

Postal Service officials say the work handled at the center will be shifted to a processing and distribution center in Albany.

Hinchey, a Democrat from Ulster County, said Postal Service officials have failed to justify its plans to close the Newburgh center. He said he'll do everything he can to block their efforts.

More than 260 other processing centers nationwide are targeted for closure.

The Postal Service cited a 25 percent drop in first-class mail volume since 2006. When it called for the consolidations, it said would cut $3 billion in costs.