A Friday morning inferno that ripped through the building above the Sheepshead Bay Post Office knocked out power in the structure — sending the mail emporium into an ongoing state of darkness.
The second floor of the E. 18th Street building burst into flames at around 7 am on Feb. 12, and firefighters spent around 45 minutes quelling the blaze, according to the FDNY.
Yet, the damage caused the post office serving Brooklyn’s 11235 zip code to temporarily halt deliveries for a day — and it remains unclear when mail currently inside the building will be delivered.
No mail was harmed during the fire, according to USPS spokesperson Amy Gibbs, but it won’t be delivered until post office employees can safely reenter the building.
Use of retail services is suspended until further notice while mail carriers work out of a nearby USPS post office, Gibbs told Brooklyn Paper, and post office box holders can pick up their mail daily at 2370 E. 19th Street during business hours.
The first-floor post office itself did suffer some damage from both the blaze and the water used to douse it, and as of Feb. 13, debris blocked any path to the building’s front door, according to the area’s community board head.
“I was there Saturday and there was debris all over that was thrown out from the top floor,” said Community Board 15 Chair Theresa Scavo. “You couldn’t get near the door, you couldn’t get near it.”
However, Scavo said she has not heard any complaints from the community in regard to mail delays.
“I have not a word about how it’s affecting people, whether the mail is being delivered,” she said.
Has your mail delivery been impacted by the post office fire? Contact Brooklyn Paper reporter Jessica Parks at jparks@schnepsmedia.com.
Update (Feb. 18, 12:06 pm): This story has been updated to include additional information about where post office box holders can pick up their mail.
