On May 22nd, Congressman Turner and an aide to Assemblyman Miller presented USPS District Manager Frank Calabrese with a formal application requesting a unique zip code for Glendale along with a letter of support from Glendale/Ridgewood community organizations, local businesses, and a petition from over 1,000 residents seeking this action. File photo.
In an ongoing effort to secure a unique zip code for Glendale, Queens, Congressman Bob Turner (NY-09) and Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-38) have filed a formal appeal with the United Stated Postal Service headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Miller and Turner sent the letter after the USPSTriboro District rejected their request for a separate Glendale zip code.
They are pushing for the USPS to assign the vacant, adjoining 11384 zip code to Glendale. Currently, Glendale and Ridgewood share the 11385 zip code, with a combined population of 98,592 – nearly double the average for a Queens zip code.
“There is an open zip code adjacent to Glendale resident’s current zip, it’s as if the solution is right in front of the USPS and they are refusing to make life easier for everyone,” Turner said.
Miller and Turner noted that there have been incidents of spoiled medication and mail going undelivered because of duplicate addresses under this “extremely overused zip.”
They also pointed out issues of community pride, something Turner and Miller’s offices worked to fix through street realignment.
“We took a great deal of time and effort to draw the lines of Glendale for USPS. While there was some disagreement on the peripheral boundaries, we decided to be as inclusive as possible. Residents from Margaret Place to the 104th Police Precinct deserve to have their own identity and access to their own services. This battle is far from over,” Miller said.
While the USPS did not allow for Glendale to have its own zip code, the postal service headquarters did offer a compromise. The USPS has modified its software to include ‘Glendale’ as a preferred community name for the identified area.
In the letter to the USPS, the lawmakers acknowledged that the USPS’s decision to modify its software was a step in the right direction, but were still concerned over the issues that could continue to arise from the shared 11385 zip code.
“Despite the USPS’s modification to its software, the main problems still persist,” Turner said. “There is absolutely no reason for the USPS to deny Glendale its own unique zip code.”
