Harlem Congressional Member Espaillat Asks NY AG To Investigate USPS Delays

Rep. Adriano Espaillat Congressmember is asking New York’s Attorney General to investigate recent changes at the U.S. Postal Service.

The Postal Service issues have resulted in widespread mail delays and fueled fears that mail-in voting could be compromised.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, whose district covers Harlem, Washington Heights, and parts of the Bronx, wrote a letter Tuesday to New York Attorney General Letitia James, requesting that she look into reports of postal equipment being removed in New York state.

Espaillat also asked James to investigate whether Postmaster General Louis DeJoy broke any laws when he announced a set of new cost-cutting policies last month, including Harlem World Magazine reporting that mailboxes being removed, eliminating overtime for mail carriers, mailboxes being removed and removing some mailboxes.

Espaillat said his office has received “numerous complaints” in recent weeks from constituents, some of whom shared photographs and descriptions of postal equipment being removed from Upper Manhattan neighborhoods.

“Amidst the worst public health crisis in generations, and with an election in fewer than three months, Postmaster General DeJoy has deliberately impeded the delivery of postal services, causing substantial delays in the delivery of millions of Americans’ medicine, paychecks, bills, and letters to loved ones,” Espaillat said in the letter.

James is among nearly a dozen state attorneys general who are intending to sue the Trump administration over the changes at the USPS. In a statement Tuesday, she said New York was preparing to file its own suit while coordinating with other states.

“The integrity of our elections is fundamental to our nation’s democracy and we won’t allow anyone to undermine them, not even the president of the United States,” James said.

James’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Patch regarding Espaillat’s letter.

On Wednesday, DeJoy, the Postmaster General, said the agency would suspend the policy changes until after the November General Election, but it wasn’t clear whether that would be enough to eliminate delays.