Rain or snow, the Postal Service always delivers. But not this time.
The state wants to take over the post officeâs Fort Point Channel property to make way for a $1 billion expansion of South Station, which sits next door. The federal agency wonât budge, saying the state isnât offering a rich enough deal for a site in one of the countryâs hottest neighborhoods.
How far apart are they? Try $100 million.
The two sides have been talking on and off for a decade â you read that right, more than 10 years. Of late, negotiations have intensified, reaching the highest level of the agency with a meeting involving Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, US Representative Stephen Lynch, the stateâs transportation secretary, Rich Davey, and Massport chief Tom Glynn.
Itâs become a classic standoff between two bureaucracies, turning political gridlock into real gridlock, with the losers being all of us stuck waiting on a train platform. What hangs in the balance is more convenience and less stress for thousands of travelers daily. An expanded South Station would usher in a new era of public transit in Massachusetts. Imagine: more commuter rail, more Acelas, even true high-speed trains.
âWe have offered so many solutions to the problem,â said Davey. âThe time is now to make this happen. All the interests are aligned. At the end of the day, weâre all trying to serve the people of Massachusetts.â
The state is fast losing patience, fearing the Postal Service is trying to run out the clock on the Patrick administration.
Davey has offered to build the post office a new processing facility a mile away in the Seaport District, close to Logan Airport and with easy access to interstates 90 and 93. To sweeten the deal, he threw in a 1,000-car garage for postal workers.
When that didnât work, he came back with a new proposal, thinking cash must be king to an agency that has lost $46 billion in recent years. The Postal Service, if you can believe it, said âNo thank youâ to $350 million. Who knew the Commonwealth had this much money just lying around?
Union and NAME of Local/Branch
CNYAL
This idiotic ballet has been going on for years. I’m amazed that our illustrious Postmaster didn’t trip over himself trying to get the $350 million.