Campaign continues to install ‘Cadillac of mailboxes’
USPS imports new units to northeast Queens to help curb mail fishing epidemic
BY JENNA BAGCAL
The United States
Postal Service (USPS)
is making good on its
promise to “make mail
safer” within a Baysidebased
precinct.
On Jan. 10, the 111th
Precinct posted photos on
its Twitter account of new
high-security mailboxes
that were being installed
to prevent incidents of
mailbox fishing.
The installation of the
new boxes is part of the
USPS’ comprehensive
plan to replace the
standard blue boxes with
what they deemed the
“Cadillac of mailboxes.”
Each box features a
“small slit” measuring
three-eighths of an
inch to drop mail into
as opposed to the
larger opening that the
traditional boxes have.
Northeast Queens
has been the target of
mail theft in recent
months, according to
the precinct’s Captain
John Hall. In the
precinct’s 2018 crime
stats report, the number
of “unattended grand
larcenies” — which
includes mailbox
fishing — rose from 70
in 2017 to 124 in 2018.
Incidents decreased once
some mailboxes were
replaced, but picked up
again during the last
few months of the year.
To date, northeast
Queens neighborhoods
including Little Neck and
Oakland Gardens have
had mailboxes replaced
and retrofitted, but the
USPS said that it plans
on swapping out all 206
mailboxes in Queens.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at
jbagcal@qns.com or by
phone at (718) 224-5863
ext. 214. Remediated USPS mailboxes are delivered within the 111th Precinct. Photo via Twitter/@NYPD111Pct
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