As listed in the United States Postal Service Site, the Bronx General Post Office/Carrier Annex is up for bids. In their listing, it states “architecturally renowned building war originally constructed in 1935”. It is 170,560 squared feet and 4 stories located in 558 Grand Concourse at 149th street.
Bronx Post Office for Sale
The 13 large egg tempura murals entitled “Resources of America” in the Post office lobby was landmarked last year. Ben Shahn and Bernarda Bryons Shahn, painted the murals of American Workers’ nobility inspired by Walt Whitman Poem “I Hear America Singing”. The community, artists, Representative Jose E. Serrano (D-South Bronx,) and the artist’ son Jonathan Shahn lobbied for this landmarked designation.
The DNAinfo.com quotes Chuck Zlatkin, the political director of New York Metro Area Postal Union, “It is time to determine what role racism plays in these decisions’. In his press release, Representative Jose Serrano states “ Postal services must halt sales of historic building sales until after a release of a pending inspector general report”. The inspector general report requested will examine where the sale abides by historic preservation laws and whether public input was solicited sufficiently.
In respond to charges of racism and inappropriate sale, the spokesman of USPS responded, “the agency has compiled with preservation regulations .. and the agency was forced to sell off the building as a result of mail volume declined more than 50% in the last 10 years”
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