During his presentation at the Village Board meeting of Sept. 25, Paul Guillaro announced his desire to enter into an 18-month lease that will allow the Cold Spring post office to site trailers on his property at the former Butterfield Hospital. He further stated that he hoped to execute the lease by November. Notwithstanding the proposed length of the proposed lease, it is Mr. Guillaro’s intention to allow the trailers to remain at the site for as many years as is required to construct new facilities for the post office.
The Paulding Avenue Neighbors Association (PANA) adamantly opposes the siting of the post office trailers at the Butterfield Hospital site if it will entail the use of Paulding Avenue for any vehicular access to the proposed temporary post office facility.
As anyone who uses the Cold Spring post office knows, postal customers use the facility throughout the day; most arrive by automobile. In addition, local postal delivery trucks and large Postal Service trucks that pick-up and deliver mail to and from regional distribution centers are also part of the regular traffic to the post office. The cumulative increase in customer and commercial traffic to and from the Paulding Ave area will amount to hundreds of trips per week.
Introducing such traffic to Paulding Avenue will cause significant adverse environmental impacts to our neighborhood, introduce noise and congestion, alter its character, harm its historic significance, and disrupt the daily lives of the residents. Further, the combined action of relocating the post office to a different part of the village, leasing space at Butterfield for trailers, and opening Paulding Ave to traffic will, at a minimum, trigger a requirement for a formal environmental assessment by the U.S. Postal Service under the National Environmental Policy Act.
In addition, since the plans for post office trailers were only presented orally, and no details regarding services such as water, electric, and toilet, the site preparations that will be required, or the aesthetics of the overall facility, PANA reserves the right to comment and object further as details become available.
Paulding Avenue Neighbors Association
