Blast from the past

Given the world we live in these days... France 24 checks in (H/T cmarrtyy!) with a feature on the city's mostly forgotten fallout shelters, specifically the one at the Cooper Station Post Office on Fourth Avenue and 11th Street:

The yellow and white metal sign on the Cooper Station Post Office is one of perhaps thousands that can be found scattered throughout the city -- largely forgotten relics of the days when the threat of annihilation via a Soviet nuclear attack seemed like a very real and terrifying proposition.

But as the war of words between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un intensifies, the idea of nuclear war, however remote, has made its way back into public consciousness for the first time since the Cold War.

The shelter at Cooper Station is now used for storage, per the article. (Maybe this could serve as a fallout shelter?)

Also at Cooper Station, someone affixed the word Trump to the top of the sign...



P.S.

Bonus Fallout Shelter signage from Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B (photo taken on June 12)...

1 explanation for that lousy parking job on East 11th Street

EVG reader mdmn spotted this parking job on East 11th Street near Amsterdam Billiards at Fourth Avenue yesterday afternoon.

Just an awful parking effort by someone in a rush to play pool?

The car was parked directly across from the the delivery gates at the Cooper Station Post Office.

Hey, there's a note.



Perhaps the force of the collision forced the car up on the sidewalk?



Other theories welcome, probably.

Reader mailbag: What has happened to the Cooper Station Post Office?

We usually hear gripes about the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office on East 14th Street. That branch, as you likely know, is closing in the coming weeks. ( The USPS will lease the former Duane Reade on East 14th Street near First Avenue for retail services, such as stamp sales and P.O. boxes.)

Meanwhile, the Cooper Station branch on Fourth Avenue at East 11th Street was the PO Oasis, a magical place where you didn't have to wait in line for 90 minutes … and where you could find employees who smiled — and not just when they were going on break while you were standing in line.

Now, ahead of the Peter Stuyvesant closure, an EVG reader wonders if that branch's "inept and lazy management" has been transferred to Cooper Station.

The reader explains.

This post office used to be quite good (considering), but since November the lines have gotten longer and longer and slower, the self-service machines mostly don't work, the place looks dirtier and more run-down than it used to (although all the lights are left on on both floors 24 hours a day when it is closed).

The latest trick (which is what I heard was standard operating procedure for Peter Stuyvesant) is failing to deliver packages and lying about it. I ordered from Amazon and the USPS claims they tried to deliver at 6:04 p.m. on Sunday — never mind they don't work on Sundays and the lobby of my building is open and attended 24/7. They didn't leave a slip so now I can't go to pick up the package. I rescheduled the delivery online for yesterday and nothing happened either. [Updated: The USPS is delivering for Amazon on Sundays now.]

It's a shame because the Cooper Square location used to be the place people went to avoid the East 14th Street debacle — not any more.

PO paradise lost? Anyone else notice a change (for the worse) in service at Cooper Station?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Peter Stuyvesant Post Office now also open to ruin your Sundays this month

Today in rants: the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office

Meanwhile, at everyone's favorite local post office branch...

Has anyone taken advantage of this 'great news' at the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office?