The Post Office, currently dying a slow, prolonged death, is rattling out one final (?) wish this weekend, a postage price hike that surely won't be enough to save the institution. But they can try! more ›

In case you haven't heard, the Postal Service isn't doing so well these days. There have been layoffs, post office closures, and a recently-announced plan to kill off next-day mail. And New Yorkers aren't going to take it anymore! more ›

The ailing Postal Service, which is laying off employees and shutting down post offices left and right in the face of a crippling budget deficit, announced more bad news today: the agency might straight-up run out of cash by September 2012. more ›

The Post Office, rapidly becoming one of the country's most endangered creatures, continues to dwindle on the brink of existence today, with word coming from Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe that he plans to slash jobs for some 35,000 postal workers. more ›

In this mixed-up modern world, the idea of a Post Office charging less than 50 cents to hand-deliver information across America is only "incrementally less crazy" than Urbanfetch, which, according to Jon Stewart, was "basically a service for people who were too high to go out and get things, but not too high to want things." In a funny Daily Show segment last night, Stewart marveled at the possibility that the Postal Service could shut down this winter if it can't make a $5.5 billion payment due later this month. more ›

Neither wind, nor rain, nor sleet nor hail, nothing will stop the US Mail. Except maybe Saturdays. And a crippling $9.2 billion budget deficit. While some have been warning of the closure of one of America's greatest institutions, most of us have been sending crappy e-cards to Grandma and refusing to set foot in those "crowded" post offices (but we'll wait 2 hours for Shake Shack?). Now, the Times reports that the United States Postal Service will be unable to make a $5.5 billion payment due later this month and may completely shut down this winter unless Congress does something fast. HAHA get it? Congress? Fast? more ›

Stamp collectors and mail nerds, behold the newest design in the Postal Service's line of Forever Stamps! The 2012 "Earthscapes" series features aerial shots of the world's natural, agricultural, and urban landscapes...including such fine scenery as the high-rise apartments of the Upper West Side. more ›

Through rain, snow, sleet—but especially snow—a Queens mailman delivered the mail and a couple kilos of coke, prosecutors announced yesterday. 49-year-old Felix Soto, who resides in the Bronx, faces up to twenty years in prison on charges of selling a controlled substance and second-degree conspiracy. "The defendant is accused of delivering more than just the mail while carrying out his duties as a U.S. mail carrier," Queens DA Paul Brown said in a statement. more ›

Calling Newman: A Deptford, NJ resident was arrested after allegedly dumping 32,000 pieces of mail—which were due at a U.S. Postal Service facility—in the woods instead. According to the Courier Post, "Robert Lyons, a driver for a postal contractor, allegedly abandoned three pallets holding first-class and bulk-mail pieces in a wooded area in a West Deptford park on the night of May 24... The mail was recovered the next morning after a municipal employee spotted the pallets, the complaint says." more ›

Whoops! Aside from long lines, lost packages, rodents, and closed branches... the United States Postal Service has now taken their fail factor to the streets. A reader sent in this photo of a postal truck leaving the dock at 10th Avenue, attempting to make a very sharp turn and getting wedged under the overpass on 30th Street at 9:30 this morning. Check out another angle after the jump... more ›

The U.S. Post Service expects today to be its busiest day of the year, thanks to the last minute rush of cards and packages being sent to arrive in time for Christmas. According to reports, "USPS says holiday mail will increase by more than 40 percent. That amounts to about 830 million pieces of mail in one day. Postal workers say you should send all your packages by December 16 if you want them to reach their destinations by Christmas." more ›

Yesterday the US Postal Service announced they would save 9 of the 14 branches that were set to shutter, due to a decrease in business. CityRoom reports that the five still being shut down are in the Bronx and Queens. more ›

The U.S. Postal Service released a revised list (PDF) of locations it is closing, due to its financial woes (it lost $7 billion in the fiscal year that ended September 30), and 16 NYC locations are listed. Seven are in the Bronx, seven are in Manhattan, and two are in Queens—full list after the jump. While it's not pretty, 53 locations were on the possible closing list in the summer. more ›

News about the potential shuttering of post offices across the city is drawing scrutiny from politicians and residents, who are both upset and skeptical about the Postal Service's announcement. After a list of 53 post offices under consideration for closing was released—and then amended to include only 14 locations—the NY Times reports today that many just flat-out don't believe the USPS is cutting back on the cut-backs. Says New York postal union President Clarice Torrence, "On station closings they’ve always been very deceptive...If they amended the list they would let me know." Rep. Anthony Weiner, meanwhile, points to the closings confusion as an example of Newman-style post office ineptitude: "The way the U.S.P.S. has released information in dribs and drabs, it’s no wonder that they have been losing business." That loss of business is the main reason for the $7 billion budget hole facing the USPS this year—with too little mail and too many branches, USPS officials are hoping that enough closings might help the service "become more efficient." more ›

Yesterday, the U.S.P.S. announced a number of cost-saving measures—closing six of 80 district offices and offering 150,000 employees early retirement— to save $100 million annually. The U.S.P.S., which had a $2.8 billion deficit in 2008, is reviewing other cuts, and Senator Charles Schumer is defending Staten Island's mail processing at the Manor Road Post Office, where all of the borough's mail gets its postmark. The U.S.P.S. is considering moving outgoing mail processing (and 300 employees) to Brooklyn or Queens; the P.O. would stay open, but the Staten Island Advance points out, "Letters addressed to Staten Island then would be brought back by truck for distribution here." Schumer' wrote to the Postmaster General, "It is unacceptable that the United States Post Office is even considering shutting down the outgoing mail facility at the Manor Road Post Office ... During this economic crisis, transferring these workers to Brooklyn or Queens would cost them time, transportation costs and could damage the quality of [mail] delivery for Staten Island." more ›

With the U.S. Postal Service asking Congress to authorize a five-day work week for postal employes, down from the current six-day week, because of falling revenues, the NY Post turned to a well-known figure. However, that figure is known for only , not actually being one. Yes, the Post has a column from Wayne Knight, aka the actor who played Newman on Seinfeld. more ›

; you can wait until 12/20 if you're sending it first-class and priority mail or until 12/23 if it's sent via express mail. And yesterday was also the busiest day of the year for FedEx (for Christmas delivery, you have until 12/17 to ship via FedEx Ground and until 12/23 via FedEx Express). more ›

The U.S. Postal Service has increased first class stamp rates one penny to 42 cents and printed over one million extra one-cent stamps for people who didn't buy the Forever stamps. For those of you thinking, "Another stamp increase? Again?" the last increase was in May of last year. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, a United State Postal Service tractor-trailer hit a fire truck in Laurelton, Queens, leaving a total of eight people injured. The truck had been responding to an alarm on 226th Street when the USPS vehicle hit it in the side at North Conduit Avenue and 225th Street. Then a taxi minivan crashed into the USPS truck. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg has announced that the city will crackdown on the abuse of parking permits issued to civil servants, reducing the overall number by 20%. The change comes after the Post revealed in November that “149 separate government entities had qualified for the coveted placards last year, ranging from the state lottery to the US Navy recruiting office, which was allocated an astonishing 110 permits.” more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a police officer was struck on Richmond and Wilson Aves. on Staten Island, there was a large fight on Franklin Ave. and Empire Blvd. in Brooklyn, and a double homicide on Furman Ave. and East 237th St. in the Bronx.
• The US Postal Service is expecting to process one billion individual pieces of mail today, three times the daily average. The busiest day of the year is expected to be Wednesday.
• Interboro Institute, the two-year commercial college, is going out of business due to financial and regulatory problems.
• Oysters used to be one of the most plentiful animals in NY Harbor. Now they're making a recovery in one of the most unlikely of places--the Gowanus Canal.
• The Metropolitan Museum received quite the holiday present when the estate of Diane Arbus presented it with the photographer's entire archives as a gift.
• The airline industry is seeking in court to block a passenger bill of rights that originated in New York due to horrendous service.
• The city's looking to combat the obesity of New Yorkers (we're less obese than the rest of the country) by increasing the number of permits issued to food cart vendors selling fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Collaborative sleuthing tries to dig up why the planned Brooklyn College dorm that used to be under construction seems to be going nowhere.

READING: Have you thought about Rereading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë lately? Writers and Brontë enthusiasts Jennifer Egan, Siri Hustvedt and Margot Livesey have! Tonight they celebrate the "heart-searing story of a plain, orphaned governess who struggles at an oppressive boarding school before moving to Thornfield, eventually falling in love with her mysterious employer, Mr. Rochester." The event coincides with a new Masterpiece Theatre presentation of Jane Eyre. more ›

Update: WNBC reports that Cho Seung Hui sent a "box containing a manifesto of sorts, photographs and other material" (including videos) to NBC News. NBC News received it today and president Steve Capus turned the box over the FBI, but MSNBC says that the box was sent between the two shootings.

The package included a long, “rambling, manifesto-like statement embedded with a series of photographs,” Capus said. The material is “hard-to-follow ... disturbing, very disturbing — very angry, profanity-laced,” he said. more ›

The special US Postal Service-Star Wars R2D2 mailboxes have arrived, just in time to get acquainted with NYC-style slush. WNBC has a slideshow of a mailbox in Midtown, and we suppose the horrible sleet kept some fans away, lest they sully their Jedi robes. more ›

Take this as your dose of levity for the day: As part of a big Star Wars stamp roll out for the film's 30th anniversary, the US Postal Service will have some mailboxes across the country wrapped with R2D2 decals. more ›

Untitled, by Ryan at Citying. more ›

Bad Veins had only played five shows before they played our Movable Hype show last week, and we hope you caught them. With a megaphone, guitars, keys, a telephone microphone, drums and a reel to reel named Irene...the two members in this band manage to sound like a full rock orchestra. more ›

You might envy the charm of brownstone life, but apparently one pitfall is that the some mail carriers don't like to deliver the mail to them. The NY Sun examines the situation after some Brooklyn residents realized their mail wasn't coming. Mail carriers feel stoops are dangerous especially in winter weather, and lately some residents' mail has been "rained upon, blown away, and destroyed." You'd think the mail would have to be delivered at the house, but:

The U.S. Postal Service wants the ongoing tiffs between brownstone residents and their letter carriers to soon be a thing of the past. The Postal Service is attempting to phase out door delivery in Brooklyn and other cities across the country. more ›