Community Corner

USPS Won't Reconsider Moving Services from Windward Circle

In a letter to a lawyer for the Venice Stakeholders Association, the Postal Service declines to reconsider its decision to relocate services so it can sell the post office on Windward Circle.

It appears that local efforts to prevent the sale of Venice's historic post office have been stymied.

Despite pressure from Venice residents and Congresswoman Janice Hahn (D-San Pedro), the United States Postal Service will continue plans to relocate services from Windward Circle to the Postal Annex on Grand Avenue.

The consolidation of services would clear the way for the USPS to sell the current post office to a private entity.

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On Thursday, the Venice Stakeholders Association published a letter from the vice president of network operations for the USPS that reads, in part:

"There is no basis to set aside the decision to relocate the Venice Main Post Office. … This is the final decision of the Postal Service with respect to this matter, and there is no right to further administrative or judicial review of this decision."

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USPS representatives to sell the building on Windward Circle at a Venice Neighborhood Council board meeting in July. The VNC unanimously voted to reject the plan.

The consolidation of services and sale of the building are cost-cutting measures on the part of the USPS, which has been dramatically downsizing under economic pressures.

In 2009, the USPS put the Postal Annex on Grand Avenue up for sale but was unable to work out another location for services.

Services cannot be consolidated at the Windward Circle location, due to size and accessibility restrictions, according to the USPS.

"From recent meetings with representatives of the Postal Service, it is certain that the relocation will lead to the sale of the post office, and we remain concerned that sale will put the structure at serious risk of eventual demolition," Venice Stakeholders Association President Mark Ryavec said in a statement.

The post office is home to a 1941 mural by Edward Biberman called "The Story of Venice."

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