No one is very happy about the impending postal service cuts, which include post office location closings and plans to kill next-day mail, because it's possible it will run out of cash in less than a year. Now, the U.S. Postal Service says, "In response to a request made by multiple U.S. Senators, [the USPS] has agreed to delay the closing or consolidation of any Post Office or mail processing facility until May 15, 2012. The Postal Service will continue all necessary steps required for the review of these facilities during the interim period, including public input meetings." more ›

A sad truth for cyclists in New York is that when one is struck dead by a motor vehicle most of the time no charges are filed. Unless, it seems, the victim is the sister-in-law of a famous defense attorney. Though earlier this summer charges against the Postal Service employee who fatally struck cyclist Marilyn Dershowitz were considered unlikely, the Manhattan DA yesterday surprised us all by charging 62-year-old Ian Clement with leaving the scene of an accident. It is a start. more ›

The United States Postal Service, which has been battling financial problems as fewer people are relying on its offering, is looking to close 3700 locations across the country—and 34 are in NYC. According to NY1, "The Bronx has the most in jeopardy with 17, followed by Manhattan with six, then Brooklyn and Queens with five each and Staten Island with just one." You can see the list here. more ›

While the incident is still under investigation, it's doubtful that the U.S. Postal Service employee driving the truck that fatally struck cyclist Marilyn Dershowitz will face charges. The NYPD's sources tell the Post "they did not anticipate charges being brought against driver Ian Clement." more ›

Those New Yorkers lucky enough to have jobs often have a hard time getting to the Post Office in person, because their hours of operation seem deliberately designed to exclude working stiffs. Many of us just pay extra for the convenience of buying stamps at a deli, but this is an increasingly risky transaction, because counterfeit stamps are flooding the market in NYC and elsewhere. We recently got conned ourselves, and turned to the USPS for help getting some payback at the Brooklyn Gourmet Deli on South 2nd Street. 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.

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 ›

Yesterday morning, some subway service on different lines was disrupted due to a police investigation. It turns out that a woman was killed at 34th Street and 8th Avenue subway station. The Staten Island Advance reports that the woman was Grace Coughlin, a 53 year old US Postal Service Inspection employee. The motorman told police that Coughlin jumped in front of the train, but Couglin's family was told that she fell into the tracks. Police believe the death was a suicide, but they are still investigating. The Advance also notes that Coughlin usually worked in the Brooklyn office, but was "scheduled to work in Manhattan yesterday." more ›

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Fie on you, US Postal Service! We couldn't find any 2 cent stamps left, in order to complement our Muppet stamps with some Navajo jewelry, Now we're faced with a huge mailing we need to do (hateful wedding etiquette that says reply card envelopes must be stamped also!), and the lines at the post office have been sooooo long. And angry. Gothamist could go to Mailboxes Etc., where they'll charge, oh, about 25% more for the new stamps, but if we're going to do that, we might as well get some personalized stamps. Personalized stamps cost more, but at least they'll have a picture of our favorite one-eye cat! (The one eye makes him look rakish!) more ›

The Library of Congress on Columbus Day, another website about Columbus's journey and one we like better about the food he ate. more ›

The lead and the yellow jersey belongs to Frenchman, Thomas Voeckler. Voeckler, 25 years old, is now 9:35 ahead of the sixth place Armstrong who hung back to save his energy for the second half of the Tour. Voeckler decided to seize the opportunity to move into first and hopes to hold onto his lead through the mountains. While Armstrong may be too much to handle, Voeckler is also a strong climber. In another race last month, he won a difficult mountain stage, proving his mountain climbing grit. more ›

- Official BBQ thumbs-up for the 4th more ›