There are 480 boxes on the back wall, numbering from 1101 to 1580. There are 1,367 housing units in Key Colony Beach. If the "temporary" trailer doesn't have room for those 480 boxes, then telling us "there are plenty of boxes even extra for future expansion" isn't exactly the truth, is it?
UPDATE: Instead of losing the 480 boxes on the back row, it turns out the Post Office Trailer has just 944 boxes. 944. That's a loss of 636 boxes or more than 40 percent of the total.
This just gets worse and worse. "There are plenty of Post Office Boxes to accommodate each home in the City of Key Colony Beach. While it is true that SOME Residents will be assigned a new Post Office Box Number..."
Wait. What?
They're forcing this move on residents and making SOME do "Change of Address" handling for tens or hundreds of correspondents?
This ill-conceived move is a personal disaster for many residents.
"Scammers changed my address online," one gentleman said. "It's been a nightmare and I had to put a block on any future changes. How am I supposed to cope with this?" Change-of-address fraud is on the rise, almost tripling to 23,000 cases last year, according to new data from the Post Office.
Another resident is very short. She's happy to have one of the "lower" boxes on the back wall. "I can't reach the upper boxes," she said. "How am I supposed to get my mail?"
One of the people in line at the Post Office thought it was simple. "Just fill out a change of address card," he said. "The Post Office will just forward your mail to the new box."
Sure. It usually takes less than three weeks for forwarded mail to move through the system to its new destination and forwarding orders do not include all mail. Media Mail and Retail Ground mail are forwarded, but the recipient must pay for shipping. USPS Marketing Mail is not forwarded. And, it turns out, neither is your property tax bill. As of May 1, 2023, when you submit a change of address request online, you will need to take additional steps to verify your identity.
Yup. Easy peasy.
One lady has had P.O. Box 1234 for years. "It would be awful to lose that," she said when she learned her box won't move to the trailer.
"SNAFU all the way," a resident wrote. "The post office is near and dear to our hearts along with the Marble Hall. We need a post office that serves year around residents, snow birds, and long haul visitor renters. How in the H*** will a squashed together PO serve our KCB community well? Where is my box? How high will the boxes be? How low? We are not all physically equipped to reach boxes over 5' or under 2'. Which one of the commissioners is going to distribute my mail to me on the weekends and after hours and before hours and on holidays now that my box is gone?"
And how about the sentiment summed up by this gentleman: "It's bad enough to tell the bank and the credit cards and the cardiologist and sewer bill and the tax man," he said. "How about all of my friends and my family? I'll have to notify them all overnight." A lady standing nearby added, "And what if you forget someone?"
That's exactly right. The change of address order changes only your mailing address with the Post Office. You must still update government agencies (like for your benefits, driver's license, property taxes, and voter registration) and companies (like banks, insurance, online stores, etc.).
"I can tell you there are PLENTY of boxes even extra for future expansion," Turner wrote. "I do not know why they told you differently. Maybe you misunderstood..."
Perhaps what was misunderstood was hiring whomever dreamed up this move. Poor decision making and poor planning which is exactly where we came in.
