Your Stories Q&A: Another missing mailbox, this time at the Solvay post office

SOLVAY, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – You ask, we answer!

Viewer Question: What happened to the blue mailbox outside the Solvay post office?

While the question was recently sent to the Your Stories Team, the box has been missing for months.

According to the US Postal Inspection Service, the mailbox outside the post office off of Milton Avenue, was broken into around last September. The USPS removed the blue box because it was damaged.

Why has it taken months to replace the box?

A USPS spokesperson said they have a new, more secure mailbox to replace the one that was removed, however, they are waiting on a certain lock to secure the box.

The spokesperson said the rise in mail theft and vandalism has caused a surge in post offices replacing older blue mailboxes with more secure ones.

He said the growing demand has caused a backup for the locks needed to secure the new boxes.

This now makes at least the fourth location in Onondaga County where mailboxes have been removed for concerns about vandalism or mail theft.

USPS replaced the old boxes at the Teall Avenue, Kinne Road branch in DeWitt and Mattydale location with what it calls, “high-security collection boxes.”

No timetable was given for the new mailbox to be installed at Solvay. Customers can still walk inside the post office to mail letters.

In news release last year, USPS said that 12,000 high-security mailboxes are being installed nationwide.