If you haven’t been following the Allston Post Office issue, well, the short version?

It’s a long story.

But here goes.

The post office closed in 2019 due to structural failure. A tree was growing into the building. A deveoper, Eden Properties, came and pitched a redevelopment to residents and the city. Both said fine, just so long as they keep the post office. Eden worked with the United States Post Office (USPS) to build a retail space – admitted smaller than what it had before – based on the USPS’s specifications.

After literally year of limbo, last year it looked like there was a positive end to the story with the USPS tentatively agreeing to reopen the post office in Eden’s building.

Earlier this year, the USPS announced it was not moving forward with the deal – https://gvimes.link/allstonuspsrvrs

Now, the USPS has started the process of closing down the post office, permanently, citing no other suitable locations – https://gvimes.link/pstoffcclsr

This has not gone down well with Allston and Brighton residents. Officials from the City Council, the State Legislature, the local Postal Workers Union and the U.S. House of Representatives stopped by the rally on Monday to voice their distress.

The idea is that if Allston can cause enough bad publicity and pain for the USPS, it may change its mind on closing up the Allston Post Office, which American Postal Workers Union National Business Agent Scott Hoffman said has happened in the past.

“Allston is a diverse neighborhood that’s growing rapidly, and if the Allston Post Office fails to open, all 87,000 residents of Allston Brighton will be served by one post office in Brighton,” said District 9 City Councilor Liz Breadon. “Newton, which has about the same population, has 10 post offices. What’s wrong with that picture? Our seniors, immigrant communities, small busiensses and other residents deserve access to basic post office services.”

Breadon said a working, functional and affordable post office is an essential piece of life in the city.

“A post office is not a luxury, it’s an essential piece of our infrastructure,” she said.

Breadon also emphasized that residents need to make their voices heard before Oct. 11, when the USPS will close its public comment period on the post office closure procedure.

“Most importantly, I want to thank the residents of Allston Brighton,” she said. “Your voices are what brought us here today. Right now, we need your help. USPS is accepting public comments on the proposed closure until Oct. 11. I urge anyone, Allston Brighton residents, Boston residents and anyone else who’s concerned about our post office system, to submit a comment letter to the USPS. Send a letter to oppose the permanent closure of the Allston Post Office, and call on USPS to reopen our post office as soon as possible.”

To submit a letter, go to https://gvimes.link/abpstlttr

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said Boston opened the country’s first post office 400 years ago.

“If one of our 1,200 residents at the time wanted to send a letter overseas, all they had to do was fold it, seal it up, and leave a penny for the tavernkeeper,” she said. “For 387 years, if you wanted to mail a letter to a loved one, you could walk down the street and hand your letter for a loved one to a postal worker. Today I’m proud to stand with community and union leaders as we fight to keep it that way.”

Wu cited the USPS’s written commitment to rebuilding the Allston Post Office – https://gvimes.link/uspscmtmntlttr – and said her office was relieved to see that last year. It was quite a blow this spring to see their reversal. She said she is working to impel the post office to keep its commitment.

“Today our administration sent a formal request to Postmaster David Steiner and District Manager Clarissa Shea to meet with us, meet with the city and meet with the residents who are impacted by the Allston Post Office Closure,” she said. “We’re also submitting our formal comments on this formal closure, and we encourage everyone here to do the same.”

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Wu added the city is ready to go to court to enforce the original agreement.

U.S. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said the closure in Allston is a premination for post offices all over the region.

“They’re trying to bring the same pain to Dorchester,” she said, citing an announcement two weeks ago that the USPS was “temporarily” closing the Fields Corner Post Office (Allston was also under this temporary designation for the nearly seven years that it has been closed). “Which is why solidarity is so essential in this moment.”

Pressley noted that privatization of man USPS was part of the Project 2025 platform, released by the right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation, which advocated for shrinking the federal government because “Conservatives desire a smaller government not for its own sake, but for the sake of human flourishing.” – https://gvimes.link/prjct2025

“With last week’s announcement of a quote/unquote ‘temporary’ closure of the Fields Corner Post Office, I find it hard to believe that this is just a coincidence,” she said. “These efforts to close our local branches are all part of a coordinated campaign – ya’ll are tired of me saying it as the co-founder of the Stop Project 2025 Task Force. It was not a blueprint, it was a playbook. They want to privatize the USPS. They want to privatize these essential services that our constituents need every day.”

State Rep. William Brownsberger said the Allston Post Office is “the heart of the community.”

“It’s part of a broader pattern of the Trump Administration,” he said. “They are privatizing services, disrespecting workers and disrespecting the communities that depend on the post office. And it’s not just the postal service of course, it’s all kinds of cuts for people and communities across the country.”

State Rep. Kevin Honan said Allston is one of the densest neighborhoods in the city.

“This post office provided for long-term residents, the seniors and lots of students,” he said. “It’s a vital service for this community and I’m just so grateful you all came out.”

Allston Civic Association President Tony D’Isidoro also spoke at the rally, and commented on the “highly-scripted” employees of the USPS the community spoke with at the closure engagement meeting last month. He said these representatives did not seem to acknowledge that the Allston Post Office was highly utilized.

"Allston is one of the fastest-growing neighborhoods in the City of Boston, and we will never apologize for who we are, or where we live,” he said. “For those who remember the old post office, getting in line was always the norm. There was always a robust package, passport and mailbox business going on. We are a welcoming community, and those who live, work and play in Allston expect to be treated with respect, and not be subject to some sort of analytical exercise intended to improve organizational performance. You want to improve organizational performance? Give us back our post office.”

Hoffman also spoke during the rally, and said the degradation of postal services over time is a part of this strategy to privatize the USPS.

“They’ve been stealing your service for years now,” he said. “Staffing cuts, loss of facilities, and when they don’t meet their commitment goals, they just widen the goal posts. It’s a downward spiral.”

Hoffman then repeated his line from the recent Boston City Council meeting.

“I’ve said this in public and I’m not afraid to say it,” he said. “If a postal service spokesperson comes up here, if their mouth’s moving, they’re lying; whether it’s by commission, omission, or distortion. So the best way to restore any post office the restoration of which I’ve been part of, it always starts with the community, and I think the whole city is vested in this.”