Most Dangerous Block In U.S.? Mail Delivery Halted
Post Office Requests Police Escort After Violence Stops Service For Two
Weeks
HARVEY, Ill. (CBS) ― Dozens of mailboxes remain
empty after the post office suspends service in one south suburban neighborhood.
Some people get angry when their mail is late. But in Harvey, people have been
waiting for days and days. They're not getting any mail at all. CBS 2's Dana
Kozlov reports that one mail carrier in Harvey feels threatened.
The U.S.
Post Office seems to think that this is one of the most dangerous blocks in the
country. People who live on it say they haven't gotten any mail delivered to
their homes in almost two weeks.
Venus Jones is one of them.
"Between robberies and shootings and delayed police response, several
things going on, that would make it unsafe," said Harvey resident Venus Jones.
One of those shootings on the morning of October 10th reportedly
happened yards away from the mail carrier. That's when the mail stopped on
Marshfield between 151st and 152nd streets, but the post office didn't tell
anyone.
"Some of the people didn't even know that it was being held at
the post office," Jones said.
Now Jones, who says her own home has been
broken into three times in 30 days is talking to her neighbors about the mail
problem and what should happen next.
Jones says someone from the post
office told her they were going to put a cluster box for mail at the corner of
152nd and Marshfield. But she says that's not a good idea.
"We have a
lot of elderly people, a lot of older people that's working, and for us to have
to go to that corner to pick up our mail, that's unsafe for us," Jones said.
But Harvey spokesperson Sandra Alvarado says just today the postal
service requested a police officer meet a mail carrier tomorrow. But lots of
residents say the bigger issue here is a lax police department.
"It's
something that we will look into. We take every complaint very seriously,"
Alvarado said. "We want to make sure that our residents feel safe."
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