Home Tags Posts tagged with "U.S. Postal Service"

U.S. Postal Service

U.S. Postal Service announces more stamp subjects for 2025

Arts & Entertainment

by Press Release - December 27, 2024

0 387

Details on dates and locations for first-day-of-issue events through March also released

The U.S. Postal Service has announced more stamps it will release in 2025. This is a partial list, with additional subjects to be announced in the coming weeks and months. These designs are preliminary and may change.

Powwows: Celebrating Native American Culture
The Postal Service strives to tell the stories of all Americans on its stamps, and issuing stamps that honor the living culture and heritage of Indigenous people is an important part of that goal. These stamps celebrate powwows, Native American social and ceremonial gatherings that feature music, dance and festive regalia. For this issuance, Cochiti Pueblo artist Mateo Romero created original paintings of four powwow dancers performing their craft against brightly colored backgrounds that highlight each dancer’s movement and traditional dress. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps.

Spiral Galaxy (Priority Mail)
USPS celebrates the continued exploration of deep space with an extremely high-definition image of a spiral galaxy 32 million light-years from Earth. The image, captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, helps researchers update their models of star formation and allows them to better understand the origins of our universe. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp with an image from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the Space Telescope Science Institute, Janice Lee (Space Telescope Science Institute), Thomas Williams (Oxford) and the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS Team. Upon favorable review by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the stamp will be denominated at the new Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope rate.

Star Cluster (Priority Mail Express)
Featuring a second image captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, this stamp shows a star cluster approximately 1,000 light-years from Earth. Hidden within the cloud of celestial dust are floating brown dwarfs — objects too small to be stars but larger than most planets. Studying these brown dwarfs will help scientists explore how star-formation processes operate for very small masses. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp with an image provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the Space Telescope Science Institute, Kevin Luhman (Penn State University) and Catarina Alves de Oliveira (European Space Agency). Upon favorable review by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the stamp will be denominated at the new Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Envelope rate.

Freshwater Fishing Lures
Recreational fishing attracts more than 55 million anglers to America’s lakes, rivers, and oceans each year — and lure designs for different environments are part of its growing appeal. These stamps feature brightly detailed photographs by Sarah Cramer Shields showing five lures considered icons of the sport. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps.

Battlefields of the American Revolution
Marking the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War, this pane of 15 stamps invites us to witness and remember five turning points in the fight for American independence. Watercolor paintings depicting scenes of five battles appear alongside photographs of sites involved in each battle. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps with art by Greg Harlin and photographs by Jon Bilous, Richard Lewis, Tom Morris, Gregory J. Parker and Kevin Stewart.

Dates and Locations: January-March
The Postal Service today also announced stamp release dates and locations for January through March of next year:

U.S. Postal Service Announces More Stamp Subjects for 2025
Stamps	Release Date	City	State	ZIP
Lunar New Year • Year of the Snake	Jan. 14	Boston	MA	02205
Love 2025 Local ceremony	Jan. 17	Kutztown	PA	19530
Spiral Galaxy (Priority Mail)	Jan. 21	Big Sky	MT	59716
Star Cluster (Priority Mail Express)	Jan. 21	Big Sky	MT	59716
1794 Compass Rose (Global) Local ceremony	Jan. 24	Peachtree Corners	GA	30092
Allen Toussaint (Black Heritage)	Jan. 30	New Orleans	LA	70113
American Vistas (Presorted Standard) Local ceremony	Feb. 21	San Diego	CA	92199
The Appalachian Trail	Feb. 28	Dawsonville	GA	30534
Freshwater Fishing Lures	March 13	Springfield	MO	65801
Vibrant Leaves (Postcard Rate) Local ceremony	March 14	Strongsville	OH	44136
Betty White	March 27	Los Angeles	CA	90052

Details on first-day-of-issue cities/ceremony locations for other 2025 stamps will be released throughout the year. Dates and locations are subject to change.

Postal Products
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through The Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at select Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. The stories behind the stamps and more are available at stampsforever.com.

U.S. Postal Service announces new 2025 stamps, including one in honor of Betty White

by Press Release - November 22, 2024

0 570

The late Betty White will be honored with a new stamp.

History, Natural Beauty and Pop Culture Icons Are Featured

The U.S. Postal Service recently announced many of the stamps it will release in 2025.

“This early glimpse into our 2025 stamp program demonstrates our commitment to providing a diverse range of subjects and designs for both philatelists and stamp enthusiasts,” said Lisa Bobb-Semple, Stamp Services director for USPS. “This year, we are continuing several of our popular series and commemorative anniversaries, while introducing some exciting new stamps. Additionally, several of our mail-use stamps, which are printed based on demand, will be updated this year. Stay tuned for more announcements in the coming months.”

This is a partial list, with additional stamps to be announced in the coming weeks and months. These designs are preliminary and may change.

Lunar New Year: Year of the Snake
This is the sixth stamp in the current Lunar New Year series, where each entry features a mask, calling to mind the decorated masks used in the dragon or lion dances often performed during Lunar New Year parades. For Year of the Snake, designer Camille Chew constructed a three-dimensional snake mask out of hand-printed paper, then cut, scored and folded it into shape. After the front was embellished with acrylic paint and additional paper elements, the back was covered with a layer of papier-mâché. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp from a photograph of the mask by Sally Andersen-Bruce.

1794 Compass Rose (Global)
Useful for mailing a 1-ounce letter to any country in which First-Class Mail International service is available, this stamp carries with it a bit of history. The colorful compass rose was drawn in a school geography notebook by Lucia Wadsworth, the aunt of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, when she was 10 years old. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp.

Love (2025)
This new Love stamp celebrates the universal experience of love with a work by artist Keith Haring (1958–1990). With a deceptively simple and now-iconic style, Haring’s work is instantly recognizable. This stamp features Haring’s 1985 Untitled drawing. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, believes that this drawing makes for an ideal new stamp in this popular series. “The non-specificity of the figures allows a variety of people to see themselves in this stamp,” Alcalá says. “Partners getting married, celebrating an anniversary, siblings sending each other a heartfelt greeting, or even party planners setting a positive tone for their event.”

Black Heritage: Allen Toussaint
In recent years, the Black Heritage series has celebrated a man one year and a woman the next. Next year, the 48th stamp in the series will honor Allen Toussaint (1938–2015), the virtuoso pianist, singer, songwriter, composer, arranger and producer responsible for scores of hits across multiple genres. Designed by Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, the stamp features a photograph taken by Bill Tompkins in New York City in 2007.

American Vistas (Presorted Standard)
These two stamps depicting stylized, minimalist scenes of mountains and a beach are for use on business mail. The stamps feature screen prints by DKNG Studios made from vector illustrations, and were designed by Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS.

The Appalachian Trail
Covering almost 2,200 miles of footpath along one of Earth’s most ancient mountain ranges, the century-old Appalachian National Scenic Trail is within easy reach of large metropolitan areas of the East Coast. The Appalachian Trail is maintained by a network of volunteer clubs, led by the nonprofit Appalachian Trail Conservancy. This pane of 15 stamps includes a photographic view from each of the 14 states along the Maine-to-Georgia trail with an additional stamp showing stretches of trail through dense forest. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps with images from various photographers.

Vibrant Leaves (Postcard Rate)
Evoking the colorful sights of a seasonal walk in the woods, the photographs on five new postcard stamps depict leaves on trees found in the United States. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps.

Dahlias
Radiating warmth, vitality and cheer, dahlias are beloved additions to backyard gardens and formal venues alike. This issuance includes 10 close-up photographs of dahlia blossoms available in booklets of 20 stamps and coils of 3K and 10K stamps. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps using photographs by Denise Ippolito.

U.S. Flag
Conveniently available in many formats, this stamp continues a long tradition of honoring the Stars and Stripes. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp with a photograph by Doug Haight.

Schooner (Stamped Card)
New stamped-card designs are issued every few years for customers who want to send postcards with postage already included. The latest features an illustration of a two-masted sea vessel based on a photo of a 2014 replica of the 1923 schooner Columbia. Libby VanderPloeg was the artist and Antonio Alcalá provided art direction.

Luna Moth (Nonmachineable Surcharge)
This new stamp for irregularly sized envelopes features a luna moth (Actias luna), considered one of the most beautiful moths in the United States. Artist Joseph Scheer created this composite image by using a high-resolution scanner with extended focus to capture multiple layers of a preserved moth. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp.

Baby Wild Animals
Offering whimsical, eye-catching designs for letters and cards, these 10 stamps show baby wild animals from across the United States, with visual elements suggesting the habitat or behavior of each one. Tracy Walker designed and created the artwork by digitally layering colored shapes on solid backgrounds. Greg Breeding provided art direction.

Betty White
An icon of American television, Betty White (1922–2021) shared her wit and warmth with viewers for seven decades — including roles on “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” The comedic actor, who gained younger generations of fans as she entered her 90s, was also revered as a compassionate advocate for animals. Dale Stephanos created the digital illustration based on a 2010 photograph by Kwaku Alston. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp.

Winter Landscapes
Offered in booklets of 20, these five stamps feature photographs of iconic winter landscapes from around the country. Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps using images from various photographers.

Postal Products
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at select Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. The stories behind the stamps and more are available at stampsforever.com.

Suffolk D.A.: Postal employee arrested for allegedly stealing checks taken from mail stream

Police & Fire

by Press Release - June 7, 2024

0 681

Ray Tierney photo — Suffolk County D.A. Raymond Tierney

Dendrick Emery Allegedly Deposited More than $6,000 in Checks Stolen from the Mail Stream and Remotely Deposited Them into His Bank Account While Working as a Mail Handler

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced the arrest of Dendrick Emery, 42, of Brooklyn, accused of grand larceny, and other charges, for allegedly stealing checks from the mail stream and then remotely depositing them into his bank account during his work shifts at a Suffolk County branch of the U.S. Postal Service.

“The reliability of the mail service is an important part of our quality of life, and I am dedicated to doing my part to protect it,” said District Attorney Tierney. “I want to thank the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General for its hard work and cooperation in this case.”

“The Special Agents of the USPS OIG will vigorously investigate Postal Service employees who comprise their integrity for personal gain. This does not represent the work of the many trustworthy U.S. Postal Service employees who continue to do their job every day,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Northeast Area Field Office. “The U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General would like to thank our law enforcement partners and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office for their dedication and efforts in this investigation.”

“Today’s arrest of a U.S. Postal Service employee is the result of law enforcement’s commitment to root out corruption and protect Long Islanders from criminal opportunists willing to jeopardize the public’s wellbeing for their own financial gain,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo. “HSI New York’s Long Island office is proud to stand alongside our partners in securing justice on behalf of our community.”

An investigation was launched by USPS OIG in September 2023. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and HSI joined the investigation shortly thereafter. According to the investigation, between February 3, 2023 and May 4, 2023, Emery, while employed by the Postal Service as a mail handler, allegedly stole four separate checks from the mail stream totaling $6,486.12 and remotely deposited them into his personal bank account.

On June 5, 2024, Emery was arrested by investigators assigned to the Public Corruption Squad of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, together with agents from USPS OIG and HSI New York.

On June 6, 2024, Emery was arraigned on one count of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, one count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree, and one count of Official Misconduct. Emery was released without bail because his charge is not a bail-eligible offense under current New York State law, meaning prosecutors cannot ask for, and judges cannot set, bail.

Emery is due back in court on June 20, 2024, and he is being represented by the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society.

This case is being prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Laura de Oliveira of the Public Corruption Bureau, whose investigation was conducted, in part, by USPS OIG Special Agent David Campbell and HSI New York Special Agents.

Sound Beach residents and officials blast protracted post office closure

by TBR Staff - September 16, 2023

0 1584

IMG-9704 copy — 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.

Congressman LaLota intervenes in Sound Beach Post Office closure

by Leah Chiappino - August 12, 2023

0 929

Nick_LaLota — U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota. Photo from LaLota’s website

Sound Beach residents are searching for answers regarding the closure of their post office, located at 25 New York Ave., but are receiving the support of U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY1). A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service confirmed the location has been closed since May 26.

“Sound Beach Post Office remains closed awaiting necessary repairs,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We continue to work with the building’s owner to complete the work and do not have a time frame to reopen.”

When asked to provide further detail on the repairs that are needed, the spokesperson referred TBR News Media to the building’s owner, who rents the facility to USPS.

An agent for the corporation which owns the facility, according to the Town of Brookhaven’s property records, did not respond to an email request for comment.

The spokesperson for USPS directed residents in need of “retail services” to Rocky Point Post Office located at 346 Route 25A Ste. 84, and confirmed P.O. Boxes have been relocated to Miller Place.

A spokesperson for LaLota sent TBR News Media a copy of a letter the congressman wrote to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, Aug. 8, demanding answers and a resolution to the closure.

LaLota noted in the letter that his constituents have been severely inconvenienced and urged DeJoy to “strongly reconsider the current mail forwarding plan in place,” in reference to the relocation of retail services and P.O. Boxes. The letter further stated that USPS has asked LaLota’s office to “check back in September for more details” on a time frame to reopen.

“I urge the USPS to find an immediate solution that provides relief to my constituents and consumers of the Sound Beach Post Office,” the letter read. “My office and I stand ready to assist the USPS resume retail and P.O. Box operations in Sound Beach and help facilitate a work around that will best serve constituents.”

LaLota said in a separate email through his spokesperson that he sent the letter after “initial staff-level dialogue proved unfruitful.”

“The Postal Service’s lack of urgency and poor communication falls short of my constituents’ reasonable expectations,” LaLota said in the email. “Specifically, the Postal Service telling thousands of customers and my office they won’t have any more information on this issue until after September 1 demonstrates a lack of leadership and accountability at the Postal Service’s management level. I encourage my constituents to focus their frustrations on management, not the hardworking letter carriers, retail clerks and warehouse workers. I will continue a dialogue with management until this issue is resolved to my constituents’ satisfaction.”

Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point), who represents Sound Beach, said she has spoken to LaLota’s office, and while he is trying to seek answers for residents, she confirms the federal USPS has been difficult to deal with.

“The post office is not being terribly forthcoming with information, and the congressman is not happy about that at all,” Bonner said. “He knows that it’s terribly inconvenient, especially for our senior citizens, to have to drive to Miller Place to get their mail. There doesn’t seem to be any sense of urgency from the postmaster general to resolve this.”

Bea Ruberto, president of the Sound Beach Civic Association, confirmed residents have been left in the dark about a reopening date, and a timeline for the repairs.

“We have not been able to get much of an answer to what’s happening,” she said. “The concern is given the fact that the work has to be done, they use this as an excuse to shut down our post office.”

Ruberto said she heard there was an initial problem with the ceiling, which then turned into a larger repair. One day, there was a notice on the front door of the post office directing residents to go elsewhere.

The post office is central to the business district in Sound Beach, Ruberto said, which already struggles due to not having a downtown.

“The only thing that Sound Beach has is the post office,” she said. “That’s almost like the center of our town. We lose that and we lose part of where our business district is.”

Miller Place Post Office, which is where Ruberto said people are being sent for their P.O. Boxes, and Rocky Point Post Office are 1.9 miles, and 2.1 miles away, respectively, from the Sound Beach Post Office. Ruberto said these reassignments are “not a minor inconvenience.”

In one instance, according to LaLota’s letter, a “permanently disabled combat veteran did not receive a temperature-controlled medication from the VA, which must remain refrigerated, due to mail forwarding. The VA advised this constituent the medication was being returned as undeliverable. This is a completely unacceptable failure.”

Ultimately, the post office closure, Ruberto said, is yet another example of Sound Beach being forgotten and left behind.

“We’re off the beaten track,” she said. “So our businesses already lose customers because people have to go out of their way to get to us. The post office is really an important part of how all of this works.”

Postal service unveils new stamp honoring Walt Whitman

by Heidi Sutton - September 19, 2019

0 473

1 of 16

By Heidi Sutton

The U.S. Postal Service celebrated the 32nd honoree in the Literary Arts stamp series, Walt Whitman (1819-1892), with a first day of issue stamp dedication and unveiling ceremony on Sept. 12.

The event was held at a most fitting venue, The Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site’s Interpretive Center in Huntington Station, which boasts the second largest Whitman collection in the world, only superceded by the Library of Congress. The farmhouse where Whitman was born sits on the property.

Thursday’s unveiling honored the 200th anniversary of the Long Island native’s birth.

Influenced by the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Whitman wrote over 400 poems including “Song of Myself,” “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” “I Sing the Body Electric,” and his 1855 masterpiece “Leaves of Grass.”

In addition to avid stamp collectors, the event was attended by many elected officials including Assemblyman Andrew Raia, Sen. James Gaughran, Legislator Susan Berland, Supervisor Chad Lupinacci, Legislator Tom Donnelly, Councilman Mark Cuthbertson along with Executive Director of the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum Lance Reinheimer, Huntington historian Robert C. Hughes, Executive Director of Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park Vincent A. Simeone, Deputy Regional Director of NYS Parks Brian X. Foley, Regional Director of NYS Parks George “Chip” Gorman and many employees of the U.S. Postal Service.

Michael Gargiulo, WNBC co-anchor of “Today in New York” served as master of ceremonies. “I’m a huge history fan, I’m a huge stamp fan and I’m thrilled to be here,” he said before introducing Cynthia L. Shor, executive director of the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association; Jeffrey S. Gould, who sits on the board of trustees of the association; and Erik Kulleseid, commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for welcoming remarks.

The official stamp dedication was led by Cara M. Greene, vice president and controller of the U.S. Postal Service, and Walt Whitman personator Darrel Blaine Ford treated the audience to a soul-stirring reading of “Song of the Open Road.”

“Walt Whitman’s message of equality, tolerance, and the idea that we are all of the natural world, not separate from it, drew international acclaim in the 19th century and rings just as true today,” said Kulleseid, who thanked Shor and the board of directors “for all you’ve done since the 1950s to preserve this site and to educate visitors about Whitman’s vision of what it truly means to be an American.”

“[Whitman] is considered by many as the father of modern American poetry. The key word here is modern because of the topics and themes he explored — freedom, human dignity and democracy — and his stylistic innovations that at times mimicked ordinary speech and the long cadences of biblical poetry. His work continues to resonate with us today,” said Greene before unveiling the 85-cent commemorative stamp, which is intended for domestic First-Class Mail weighing up to 3 ounces.

Designed by Greg Breeding, the stamp features a portrait of Whitman painted by Brooklyn artist Sam Weber based on a photograph of the poet taken by Frank Pearsall in 1869. It depicts Whitman in his 50s, with long white hair and a beard gazing out with his chin resting in his left hand. The light purple background with a hermit thrush siting on the branch of a lilac tree recalls “When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d,” an elegy for President Abraham Lincoln written by Whitman soon after Lincoln‘s assassination on April 14, 1865. It appeared in the second edition of “Drum Taps,” a collection of poems mostly written during the Civil War.

“Why do we honor Walt Whitman? He has had a tremendous influence on poetry, he relaxed the poetic line, dispensing with rhyme and meter and opening the way to what we call ‘free verse.’ He was really the great poet of American democracy — his poems embraced people of all religions and races and social classes,” at a time of great nativism, said David S. Reynolds, author of “Walt Whitman’s America: A Cultural Biography.”

Although he witnessed much suffering during the Civil War and endured several strokes, Reynolds said Whitman “never surrendered his optimism … His poetry radiates this joyful spirit. It brims with his love of the beauty and miracles of everyday life … and lifts our spirits.”

USPS truck strikes pedestrian

by Elana Glowatz - April 2, 2015

0 1650

A pedestrian was killed in a crash with a federal vehicle while walking along the highway on Wednesday night.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, the man had been walking west on the Long Island Expressway, west of Exit 49 for Route 110 in Melville, at 10:30 p.m. when a U.S. Postal Service tractor trailer hit him.

After notifying his family, police later identified the pedestrian as 52-year-old Melville resident Stephen Puleo.

The truck’s driver, Northport resident Russell A. Davenport, 62, was not hurt, remained at the scene and attempted to assist Puleo.

A physician assistant from the Suffolk County medical examiner’s office pronounced Puleo dead at the scene.

Police also performed a safety check on the vehicle at the scene.

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to call the SCPD’s 2nd Squad, whose detectives are investigating the case, at 631-854-8252. All calls will remain confidential.