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Baltimore Community Protests Post Office Closure

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Facing some major money trouble, the U.S. Postal Service is forced to make some tough decisions. Forty-one post offices are slated for closure, 10 just in Baltimore.

But as Mike Schuh reports, those living near one of them aren't letting go without a fight.

As a whole, we identify with the city of Baltimore but the city is made up of neighborhoods and zip codes like 21214.

"This [Hamilton Post Office] is home for everyone and if you take that away from the community, you're actually stripping away part of their home," said Latoya Crumpton.

She's talking about a notice taped to the post office front door, which says closure could come soon. The cash registers there have taken in 200,000 fewer dollars last year than just three years ago.

The post office says if they close this location, they can save over a million dollars, but some folks say it's about more than just money.

"This is a quaint little neighborhood so it's part of the fabric of the neighborhood," said Piper Mosley.

"For the people around here, it's a convenience for it to be here," said Menachem Walie.

"Baltimore is created with a bunch of distinct neighborhoods, and I think the post office is one of the amenities of the neighborhood that is attractive to people," Mosley said.

Eight offices were targeted for closure in the city and a total of 10 in our area. A political fight has been partially successful.

"We've been lucky in Baltimore. We've fought out against closures. Of the original eight, we're now down to three being considered, and they're not being recommended for closure, so I think we can fight this game all the way through," said City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke.

The public can send their comments about the closures to the Baltimore Postmaster, c/o the downtown post office, until the end of next month.

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