Rep. Schiff calls decision to close Glenoaks post office ‘misguided’

Rep. Adam Schiff issued a statement Friday reiterating his position that closing the Glenoaks post office in Burbank -- a decision announced earlier in the day -- is part of a “misguided” strategy that will do little to address larger financial issues affect the U.S. Postal Service.

The decision to close the branch was announced by the postal service earlier on Friday after two years of discussions. The two employees at the facility are to be reassigned to other post offices in Burbank, U.S. Postal Service spokesman Richard Maher said.

The agency has been hemorrhaging money in recent years as it struggles to “pre-fund” its employee pension obligations -- a burden that Congress has yet to reach consensus on how to address.

But in his statement, Schiff said the move to close and sale off the Glenoaks building at 1634 North San Fernando Blvd. amounted to a “slow death by a thousand cuts” over the long term.

“Instead, the Postal Service should work with Congress to pursue a larger, more comprehensive approach to its financial health,” he said. “The closure of the Glenoaks postal facility will only hamper residents’ ability to access the mail and hurt local businesses.”

Staff writer Alene Tchekmedyian contributed to this report.

-- Jason Wells, jason.wells@latimes.com

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