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Sound Beach Post Office

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Residents advocate for the reopening of the post office in 2023. File photo

By Sofia Levorchick

Around May 29, 2023, the Sound Beach Post Office at 25 New York Ave. closed due to structural issues. With no concrete indication of a reopening date, the local community has advocated for its reopening. 

On May 30, 2025, Congressman Nick LaLota (R, NY1) posted a positive update regarding the shuttered post office on Facebook. He has been a highly involved advocate of its reopening.

“USPS and the landlord have reached an agreement to move forward with critical repairs,” LaLota wrote. “This saga isn’t over — but it’s a real step in the right direction.”

The Sound Beach Civic Association has played an active role in efforts to restore postal services to the hamlet. President Beatrice Ruberto emphasized that the post office transcended beyond mail delivery. Since Sound Beach is a small, tight-knit community without a downtown, the post office served as a central gathering hub.

“The post office was not just where people got their mail,” Ruberto said. “It was a meeting place.”

This community dynamic, fostered by the post office, was the foundation of the SBCA’s campaign to reopen the post office. Members of the association sent out mass mailings as well as actively petitioned and rallied to restore the community landmark.

“As far as I’m concerned, were it not for the Sound Beach Civic Association, I’m not sure we would be where we are today,” Ruberto said.

All these efforts worked, drawing in local and state politicians to support the cause.

“Everybody from Senator Schumer [D] to Councilwoman Bonner [R, Rocky Point], they all stepped in,” Ruberto said. “They really all added their voices.”

The excitement among residents is palpable, with everyone looking forward to the post office reopening. The three postal clerks, who are well-known and loved in the community, are also elated about going back to their post office. 

“Let me just say that our postal clerks, we know them by their first names and they’re like part of a family,” Ruberto said. “I can’t even begin to say anybody who isn’t excited about this.”

However, it is still uncertain when the Sound Beach Post Office may reopen, who will pay for the repairs and how much they will cost. 

A lengthy and complex process is involved to get the post office reopened. The litigation just ended in May, and from there, a filing for dismissal is needed. In addition to all the legal work, many repairs are required due to flooding and structural damage that may have worsened during the post office’s two years of closure.

According to Ruberto, the SBCA has not yet received a concrete timeline regarding when the post office will reopen.

“I will be very surprised if the post office is not closed for another year,” Ruberto said. “This kind of stuff takes a long time, and I didn’t want people to think that now that the litigation is over, it’s going to be open soon.”

As the post office inches closer to its reopening, the SBCA has begun preparing a community celebration to commemorate Sound Beach again having its own post office.

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Sound Beach residents and public officials rally outside the hamlet’s post office on New York Avenue Wednesday, Sept. 6. Photo by Sabrina Artusa
By Sabrina Artusa

Sound Beach’s residents and political representatives are fed up over the prolonged closure of the hamlet’s post office on New York Avenue, which has been closed for repairs since May.

New York State Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk), Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point), among others, rallied outside the post office Wednesday, Sept. 6, putting pressure on the U.S. Postal Service and the property owner to expedite reopening of the complex.

Some 15 weeks ago, the Brooklyn-based property owner of the building posted a sign on the door informing of its immediate but temporary closure. Sound Beach residents, blindsided by the abruptness, were forced to wait over a week to receive mail from nearby offices.

The private property owner has largely been unreceptive to attempts to reach out, according to Chad Lennon, a representative of U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY1).

“We’ve been communicating,” Lennon said. “We haven’t seen reciprocation.”

USPS replied once, informing LaLota that they expected the landowner to make repairs and reopen the post office by Sept. 8. Despite this, the property owner hasn’t filed any permits for work on the building to date. Needless to say the office was not opened on Sept. 8.

The town is prepared to conduct an analysis of the building, along with repairs, when permitted. There are “building engineers on staff to come in this building and know right away what it needs to be up to code,” Palumbo said. “This is absolutely unacceptable.”

Palumbo suggested the landowner is “slow walking” the process while continuing to get rent from the federal government.

“You should not have to pay for services you don’t get,” Romaine said. “Just as the federal government shouldn’t pay taxes for a building that’s closed.”

Palumbo, meanwhile, considered the town “the most important entity” in prompting action and incurring change.

“The owners of this property need to be held accountable and held responsible to do the right thing,” Bonner said. “Bring this post office back to the residents and the community of Sound Beach.”

Some residents had time-sensitive packages, such as medication, that they were not receiving. One woman said that the contents had melted by the time she did received her package.

“We walked by one day, and it was closed,” said Patty Blasberg, who has lived in Sound Beach for 33 years. “That should be public knowledge,” adding that the post office closure “is detrimental to our community.”

Many in attendance, including Bonner, said that in a small hamlet like Sound Beach, the post office is vital to the “community’s identity.”

Blasberg said she always enjoyed the social aspect of going to the post office, where she could see her neighbors. “We want the community to thrive,” she said. “You can’t do that without a post office.”

According to Shirley Smith, another Sound Beach resident, the post office has needed repairs for a while and mentioned a leaking ceiling.

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