Fields Corner post office closes Monday as council asks USPS to find a new home

The post office at 218 Adams St. in Fields Corner closes Monday, Oct. 26. The U.S. Postal Service calls the closure temporary. Dorchester's city councilor says he doubts it.

For neighbors, the change means new places to go. In a Sept. 30 notice, USPS said the closure is because the lease ran out. Post office boxes move to a temporary Fields Corner Annex at 18 Clayton St., which USPS said will be open around the clock. Held mail and packages that need a signature can be picked up there weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to noon, with a government photo ID. Stamps, shipping and other retail services move to the Codman Square Post Office at 554 Washington St.

What the council did

On Oct. 21, the City Council adopted docket 1970, a resolution urging USPS to secure a new location for the Fields Corner Post Office. It was filed by City Councilor John FitzGerald (District 3). City Council President Liz Breadon (District 9) and City Councilor Brian Worrell (District 4) were added as original co-sponsors, and the council's record lists all 13 councilors as sponsors. It passed the day it was read, under a suspension of the rules, by voice vote. A resolution states the council's position. It cannot make USPS, a federal agency, do anything.

What was said

FitzGerald told colleagues he puts "heavy air quotes" around "temporarily" (watch at 2:25:40). He pointed to Allston, where he said USPS called a closure temporary and the space then sat empty for years. He said residents, including many older neighbors, still rely on the office for prescriptions, postage and shipping, and that the trip is part of their routine. He also said that the landlord had offered USPS an extension, and that the new box location on Clayton Street was being built into a public sidewalk without permits. Those are his statements on the floor. We have not confirmed them independently.

Breadon said Allston's post office closed in December 2019 as a temporary closure and is still closed seven years later (2:28:12). She said she stood with FitzGerald's community as he had stood with hers.

The Allston precedent

The council has been here before. On April 29 it adopted Breadon's resolution supporting a new post office in Allston (docket 0878) by 12-0, with one councilor absent. GBH News reported this month that USPS now plans to close the Allston location for good. Mayor Michelle Wu called that plan unacceptable and asked to meet with the postmaster general, GBH reported. GBH also reported that local officials worry Fields Corner may never reopen. Read our earlier coverage: USPS proposes closing Allston's post office for good.

Another Fields Corner closure this week

The Fields Corner branch of the Boston Public Library also closes Oct. 25 so a new library building can be built, the library said.

What's next

USPS has not announced a new permanent site. The council's resolution goes to the Postal Service. For updates, watch District 3's page and USPS's Massachusetts local news releases.