RON COOK MOVED INTO HIS FOSTER FAMILY ARDSLEY HOME IN 1965---WHEN SUBURBAN SCHOOLS WERE NOT INTEGRATED

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In 1965, Ron Cook, a skinny 15-year-old young Black man who’d never been away from his home in Charleston, SC, boarded a bus for New York. He carried one suitcase. He’d never seen snow.

It was the year of space monkeys and Dr. King’s Selma march, of massive troop escalation in Vietnam and the assassination of Malcolm X, of the Northeast blackout that left 30 million in the dark, of the misery reflected in the Watts riots. It was the year that began a life-altering journey for one young man, one family and one town.

Ron Cook cruised north on the Greyhound to meet his foster family. Elaine Finsilver and her two children Jane (11) and Josh (8) from her first marriage, and Amy, not yet one, weren’t the typical white Westchester family. For one thing, Elaine was divorced, worked outside the home fulltime, and married a singular man whose single earring sparkled from under his bright white hair. A man of few words, Charles had hand-carved a totem pole in front yard of their Hartsdale home dressed in nothing but a men’s bikini. When Ron met up with his “new family” in the Port Authority, he wondered what he had gotten himself into.

What he had gotten himself into was a program to integrate the all-white Ardsley High School. The neighbors’ reaction to a Black man in the neighborhood surprised and challenged the family, but no one more than young Ron.

During African American History month—and every month—we can’t just take the evolution of our community for granted. Today, minorities comprise 30% of the Ardsley school population. In 1965, Ron was the sole African American in the entire Ardsley school system. (There was one Chinese American student in 7th grade.) What was Ron’s journey like? Was it worth it? Reflections on 50 years of segregated lives. Tune in as Paul Feiner talks with Elaine Finsilver, Jane Summer and Ron Cook etc etc.

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This is the first two responses I have received from the Postal Service relating to numerous complaints I have been forwarding to their attention from residents.  I hope that the leadership of the postal service and our congressional representatives will appreciate the fact that this is a major problem—many residents are not getting mail delivered to them. Others are not receiving prescription drugs, checks or bills and some mail is being delivered to the wrong addresses.  And, residents are receiving mail very late in the day (or not at all).

PAUL FEINER

UNITED ST/J.TES POST/J.L SERVICE

February 9, 2018 Paul Feiner

Town of Greenburgh

177 Hillside Ave

White Plains NY  10607-1146

Dear Mr. Feiner,

Your recent correspondence to Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, Mr. David E. Williams regarding mail delivery service has been forwarded to my office for response. I regret learning of the inconvenience experienced and the situations outlined by your constituents. It is not indicative of the service we wish to provide.

The U.S. Postal Service is committed to providing timely and safe delivery of mail, and we sincerely regret any occasion when our service did not meet those expectations. Moreover, we realize the extent to which our customers depend upon us each day for high-quality, reliable service.

We are constantly striving to improve service to our customers, and letters such as yours assist us in identifying problem areas. Let me assure you we constantly seek ways to improve service to customers and meet or exceed the standards that have been set. While we are generally very proud of the manner in which the mail is processed, it is disappointing to recognize and accept that sometimes, no matter how hard we try, errors and delays will occasionally occur.

I assure you that considerable attention is being devoted to ensure that you and all the customers of the Westchester District receive the best possible service each day.  To address your concerns of mis­  deliveries and delayed deliveries, service talks, (especially focusing on new employees who often require additional guidance and training)  will be given to employees  stressing  the importance of proper delivery.   In addition, as a precautionary measure, supervisory personnel wrn monitor the performance of letter carriers  for accuracy.  Additionally,  all efforts will be made to lessen the occurrence  of late  deliveries.

Thank you for choosing the United States Postal Service. Our goal is to provide our customers with the best possible Postal Service. We continue to concentrate our efforts in improving the level of service you  receive.

Reference: CA136656017

.!!!!!ff UNITED STiJTES POSTl.lL SERVICE

February 9, 2018

Paul Feiner

Town of Greenburgh 177 Hillside Ave

White Plains NY 10607-1146

Dear Mr. Feiner,

Your recent correspondence to Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, Mr. David E. Williams regarding mail delivery times (Secor Road, Hartsdale NY) has been forwarded to my office for response.

The Postal Service is charged with the responsibility of providing consistent and reliable mail service. However, as an employer, we are also dedicated to the well-being and safety of our employees. While our overall goal is to provide the best possible delivery of mail, we also must also protect our employees.

The Postal Service establishes carrier routes to provide the most efficient pattern of delivery. The design of the route is based upon a measured analysis of the number of deliveries, the length of the route, and the volume of mail.

Although we can approximate the time of delivery to each mail stop, unscheduled employee absences, unusually large mail volumes, and other prevailing factors may result in later delivery times. For example, during the fall and winter months, letter carriers sometimes make deliveries after dark to ensure that the day's mail is delivered on that day. Most after-dark deliveries occur in the holiday season, when we have higher mail volumes and shorter days. Regardless of the circumstances of delivery, please be assured that our local Postal Service managers and supervisors consider the safety of letter carriers at all times.

We recognize that, from time to time, the statute and the Postal regulations may cause conflict with some customers. When all factors are brought to their attention, however, we hope that the great majority of the public would agree that both the statute and the Postal regulations further the public interest.

As with many other organizations, it is our responsibility to insure the safety of our employees at all times. Let me assure you we constantly seek ways to improve service to customers and meet or exceed the standards that have been set.

In closing, I want to emphasize that the Postal Service listens carefully to our customers and we strive to resolve any deficiency br   ght to our attention as quickly as possible.   We value your business  and would   like to keep you as   a·   fled customer.   You may be assured  that every effort will be made to provide the    best service to y     and   II of our postal customers.

Leslie Johnson

Reference:  CA136728527

A strategy to improve our postal service deliveries----think this could work!

Release Date: January 29, 2018

I AM SENDING ALL COMPLAINTS RELATING TO POSTAL SERVICE TO THE FOLLOWING NATIONAL POSTAL SERVICE AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

THOSE WHO I AM WRITING TO…

Ronald A. Stroman, Deputy Postmaster General

  and Chief Government Relations Officer

United States Postal Service

475 L'Enfant Plaza SW

Washington, DC  20590

Megan J. Brennan

Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer

United States Postal Service

475 L'Enfant Plaza SW

Washington, DC  20590

Guy Cottrell, Chief Postal Inspector

U.S. Postal Inspection Service

United States Postal Service

475 L'Enfant Plaza SW

Washington, DC  20590

Janice D. Walker

Vice President, Corporate Communications

United States Postal Service

475 L'Enfant Plaza SW

Washington, DC  20590

Mark Dimondstein, President

American Postal Workers Union

1300 L Street NW

Washington, DC 20005

David Williams, Chief Operating Officer

and Executive Vice President

United States Postal Service

475 L'Enfant Plaza SW

Washington, DC  20260

Richard Conte

District Manager

U.S. Postal Service

1000 Westchester Ave.

White Plains, NY  10610

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

478 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC  20510

Congresswoman Nita Lowey

222 Mamaroneck Ave., Suite 310

White Plains, NY  10605

Congressman Eliot L. Engel

6 Gramatan Ave., Suite 205

Mount Vernon, NY  10550

Senator Charles Schumer

780 Third Avenue Room 2301

New York, NY  10017

Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney

1529 Longworth House Office Bldg.

Washington, DC   20515-3218