USPS under fire for plans to permanently close defunct Allston post office

Boston and state officials are pushing back against a U.S. Postal Service proposal to permanently close its shuttered Allston post office, reversing earlier plans to open a new location in the neighborhood, according to a report by The Boston Globe.

Allston has been without a post office for nearly seven years after USPS closed its location at 47 Harvard Ave. in 2019 due to structural problems with the building.

USPS had previously committed to replacing the location. In June 2025, an agency official told Boston Mayor Michelle Wu that USPS had made a “final decision” to reopen the branch at a new site close to the former post office, the Globe reported.

But city councilors said Allston residents received letters this month saying USPS is now considering permanently closing the branch instead.

The postal service said it has not made a final decision and is gathering public feedback before making a determination.

The reversal drew criticism from local, state, and federal officials during a Boston City Council hearing on Tuesday.

“The Allston neighborhood was promised a post office, and they deserve a post office,” Sen. Ed Markey said in a statement. “The United States Postal Service is meant to be the front face of the federal government in every community, but it is turning its back on neighborhoods across the Commonwealth.”

City Council President Liz Breadon, who represents Allston-Brighton and called for the hearing, urged USPS to “honor its commitments.”

“After years of public engagement, planning, and anticipation … this abrupt reversal is incredibly frustrating for our community,” Breadon said.

Breadon said roughly 87,000 people in Allston and Brighton currently rely on a single post office in Brighton, while Newton — a similarly populated city — has 10. Older residents, immigrant communities, and small business owners are among those who rely on in-person postal services, Breadon said.

USPS officials declined invitations to testify at Tuesday’s hearing, according to the Globe.

The proposal comes as USPS faces heavy financial problems. Federal officials have warned that USPS could run out of money as early as February.

“We must carefully evaluate proposals for multi-million-dollar expenditures — such as Allston — at a time when our financial position is dire,” USPS government relations director Scott Slusher wrote in a July letter to state officials.

Residents who testified Tuesday described long lines at the remaining Brighton location and other difficulties caused by the lack of an Allston branch.

Wendy Schwartz, a longtime Allston resident, urged officials to continue fighting the proposed closure.

“The inconvenience of not having a post office is tangible,” Schwartz said. “The fact that it reversed itself, I think is just inappropriate, and that we should keep fighting and get our post office back.”