Left rectangle ads redesigned
Robert Ripps book
History of Tribeca Buildings
Nosy Neighbor: When will the USPS clean the Canal Street post office?
B. wrote to ask for help getting the Postal Service to clean up the graffiti now covering the station at Canal and Church. “While the US Postal Service has been under attack by the Trump administration, here in Tribeca the landmarked* Canal Street station is under siege – graffiti is taking over the outside of the building, making the post office in this highly visible location seem forlorn and abandoned.
“After weeks I fear it may be even harder to remove the defacements from the exterior glazed tiles that likely date to the construction of the building in the 1930s. Replacing those tiles to landmark standards would be a costly and challenging undertaking.”
The communications office of the Post Office said the custodial staff is aware of the problem, and while they could not give a date for completion, work has already begun to clean the facade. It will be a job.
Now back to the building and the *. It is not in fact a local landmark, as B. suggests, however it is on the National Register of Historic Places for its unusual and unique Art Moderne style. The facade is terracotta tiles — both the buff color above and the black at the base — and the entrance stairs are black granite. (I never knew that was called a chamfered corner.) The interior walls are also terracotta, with terrazzo floors and a relief panel by the sculptor Wheeler Williams, who sounds like he was an enthusiastic supporter of Joseph McCarthy.
That aside, the building made the historic register for its imposing and dramatic structure and siting, and in its 1988 nomination, the National Park Service called it one of the most important post offices in New York City. It was built between 1937 and 1939 as a WPA project, designed by Alan Balch Mills.
Some recent Nosy Neighbor posts:
- When will the Citi Bike stations be re-installed?
- What’s doing on the Westside Highway?
- Why was the Warren Street path through City Hall Park closed?
- Why are there horses at Duane Park?
- When will the Rockefeller playground open?
- Just how many lanes are on Greenwich?
- What happened to the street lamps on Reade?
- What will replace the footings of the Rector Street Bridge?
- Could this be a piece of the Old Stone Bridge?
- Are dogs allowed in Liberty Park?
- Will the sun come out on the Sun Building clocks?
- What’s this on the side of Pier 40?
18 Comments
Comment:
Medium rectangle #1 (top)
Right column rectangle ads
Mega rectangle
Restaurant guide icon
This is disgraceful.
The post office rarely cleans up the tons of trash that accumulate on their sidewalks. We’ve asked them a couple of times. On the other hand we get a ticket if there is a single piece of blown trash into our street gutter. If they can’t keep up with the sidewalk cleaning, I don’t know how they will tackle graffiti.
I just walked by there an hour ago and there was a team pressure-washing the vandalized wall. When I walked by again soon after, the team was gone, and only half the wall had been cleaned so far. Hopefully they will continue on in the coming days.
Come on people. Didn’t you get the memo? No criticizing the USPS in any way, shape, or form until after the election.
No one is criticizing the USPS. We are, however, criticizing Louis deJoy the Trump lackey donor bozo (who never worked a day in his life as a USPS worker prior to buying his job) for deliberately slowing down the mail to discourage voting and eliminate votes against his master Trump via reducing sorting machines and staff time. But keep shilling for Trump like you normally do. Yawn.
Ummm, “shilling for Trump?” You are sorely mistaken. Please provide evidence. I’ll wait.
Let’s see…you oddly think everyone posting here is criticizing the USPS when we are not. You’re implying that because many of us in this neighborhood (myself included) think Louis deJoy is what I said is he in my previous post (and he is a sneaky vote supressor) that means we are criticizing the USPS as well as him when we are not. You’re alluding to what is going on right now re: the USPS. I know what you’re doing with your post, we all do, so knock it off.
Because people complain about one issue about one post office means we’re criticizing the entire USPS as well as deJoy – that’s your insinuation and deflection.
You are a Trump shill or you’d say you aren’t, not tell me to prove it – YOU prove you aren’t one. I know you sure sound like one in previous comments. I think it’s pretty self-evident.
I am not a Trump shill and you cannot prove otherwise. My dislike of de Blasio doesn’t make me a Trump shill. You drag Trump into this as you have in previous comments. Seems you’re obsessed with inserting Trump into all of your comments. You also drag deJoy into this and now you have elected yourself spokesperson for the neighborhood. And of course you still avoid trying to prove your false accusations. Just like when you post under the name “D”, you’re all over the place. Have you considered anger management?
Yes you are one because you will not prove otherwise. Go ahead. Tell us all why you’re not one. Since YOU brought the election into this non-political convo first, ok? You are accusing everyone of slamming the USPS along with deJoy. YOU made this post political, and who but a Trump shill (who wants readers to think we all have a problem with the USPS when we don’t) would invoke the election? We have a problem those trying to weaken the postal system so Trump can get reelected. One of them is deJoy and you sure as he’ll aren’t showing your disdain for him or Trump about thst.
I’m no spokesperson for anyone. I think most people around here hate Trump and deJoy, too bad if you don’t like it. Or that the overwhelming majority of TriBeCans voted Clinton over Trump, de Blasio over that xenophobic pro-Muslim ban racist bigot Malliotakis. And since you wanna bring up the mayor I’ll take him over fascist thug Giuliani and aloof autocrat Bloomberg any day of the week. BTW far less murders under de Blasio than Giuliani or Bloomberg – deal with that, too.
You drag Trump into everything. You don’t have to mention him eirher. No anger management needed for me. Love the self-projection – just like Trump.
Have you ever had your reading comprehension checked? Are you sure you’re not just arguing with one of those other voices in your head? You’re over the top and all over the place with unfocused wild accusations. Wow. You are a troubled soul.
Keep up the self-projection. Trump would be proud of you.
The only troubled soul is you, bigmouth, although I see you got nothing left.
I am laser focused on you and you can’t stand it. You got caught. Everyone sees you for what you are, finally. You’re a spiteful, mean person just like Trump.
You made it political. “Election” in a post about grafittied post office walls.
You are all over the place with your whining about de Blasio and Cuomo who are doing the best job with this pandemic than ANY big city mayor-governor combo. We got hit first and population density was our tragedy. They have led in flattening the curve. They warned us. Your dear leader Trump and his lackeys deSantis, Kemp, and Abbott didn’t and never will flatten the curve or warn us. DeJoy wants to keep Trump in power with sneaky sabotage.
Again, you’re all over the place. Now you’re dragging in the pandemic and Cuomo and Trump’s lackeys? The funniest line is when you describe yourself as “laser focused.” I posted three short sentences yesterday and look at the venom you have spewed. Wow. I sure hope this is another nom de plume for Smithers. Otherwise you have some serious issues. (although I’m flattered you are obsessed with me. Thank you.)
From the guy who brings up the election and de Blasio in comments on an article about graffitied post office walls.
You know what’s truly funny? You making a jackass out of yourself for everyone to see. And no one coming to your defense. Cuz You’re a pro-Trump clown who doesn’t put on the bozo nose to show us he is one – really no need to at this point. Shouldn’t have typed “election.” You started it bro.
I’m not Jim Smithers who I’m sure is LHFAO at you thinking I’m him (or I should say Jim : ) Love the paranoia. Everyone who has a bone to pick with you is Jim LOL. You’re the troll not Jim or me. Jim is funny – you’re not. You’re a sad little man with a grievance for every other TC article.
Bottom line is everyone I support is everyone you’re against and I’m proud of my support.
Sounds like Trump derangement syndrome whereby he (and his supporters) get blamed for any problem. Might anyone around here blame the people who defaced the building in the first place? Or is that not possible since they might come from a “protected” class?
Some of you need to be checked.
Like the time x amount of you were whining on here about kids selling candy bars at Greenwich and Duane Streets. So what? They’re harmless. Leave them alone. They’re also not white which is why you all complained. Because you don’t want non-white children in your self-imagined white utopia. White children selling lemonade, cookies, and toys along Washington Market Park fence good. Non-white children selling Kit Kat bars? Complain and in some peoles’ cases SNITCH on them cuz your kids and friend’s kids sell stuff.
I have HAD IT with the white grievance in TC comments, and I say that as a middle-aged white man. Save that for letters to the New York Post and Daily News. I mean hey write it and further embarrass yourself but expect to be called out for it.
This grafitti? Get on whoever to clean it up sure but spare me the election and protected class nonsense then crying over being called out for politicizing it and using it as an excuse to racist dogwhistle or peddle tropes.
I was a liberal until I got mugged four times while driving a yellow cab back in the ’70s. The way things are headed in NYC right now that liberal turned conservative might be you. Back to the future thanks to da mayor.
I cringe anytime I have to visit this post office. Not because of the way it looks but because of the nasty employees who have zero interest in helping the public. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve left in frustration. Most of the employees are horrible.
Four years later, and it is far, far worse. I thought it had closed down as it looks like an abandoned building in Flint, MI. Absolutely disgraceful. I just had my first package “delivery” last week from the USPS in years. It did not actually arrive. Makes sense.