Houstonians frustrated by vandalized mailboxes

HOUSTON — People are fed up with damaged mailboxes in a southeast Houston neighborhood and Grace White received an email asking for help.

“You can go into all of them without opening each door individually,” Jaime Blancas said, pointing to the mailboxes on Prairie Brook Court. “They’re thieves. They steal stuff.”

Another neighbor sent photos of the two damaged mailboxes, and when we went to the Clear Lake subdivision in Bay Knoll, they were on the ground.

“A few months ago they broke into this one, then little by little they broke into those over there,” Blancas said.

KHOU contacted the postal service. A spokeswoman said it is the HOA that is responsible for repairing what is called a “cluster unit.” She released this statement:

“The Postal Service remains committed to providing world-class postal services to the American public. Ensuring the security and sanctity of the mail is of paramount importance. This includes ensuring that mail receptacles are secure, safe and in good condition. state at all times. Mail receptacles must be provided for receiving mail, including in locations with approved centralized delivery, which use cluster box units (CBUs). purchase, installation, maintenance, repair and replacement of mail receptacles are the responsibility of the customer or HOA, if one exists.

“The Postal Service will only provide mail delivery services to approved postal receptacles for the approved and established delivery method, including to existing CBU equipment. In this case, local postal officials are aware and working with the HOA. We will continue to work with them, providing contact details of available approved suppliers to help them purchase and install new CBU equipment. In the meantime, customers can continue to temporarily collect their mail at the Albert Thomas Post Office located at 14917 El Camino Real, Houston, TX, 77062, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., closed Saturday and Sunday. .

“We appreciate the opportunity to continue working with our customers and providing fast and efficient mail delivery services. Customers are reminded that if they need assistance with mail or shipping issues, there are various options for contacting the Postal Service, including their local post office by calling 1-800-ASK -USPS (1-800-275-8777). or visit our website at www.usps.com/help. Additionally, if anyone sees something suspicious near a mailbox or sees someone stealing mail, they should immediately call the police and then report it to the United States Postal Inspection Service at 1 -877-876-2455. Anyone who knows the possible perpetrator of this particular incident should also call our 877 number to report it. »

KHOU also contacted the Pineloch Community Association, but it declined to comment. As residents like Blancas wait for the boxes to be repaired, they wonder what their neighbors might be missing.

“People rely on drugs and all that kind of stuff, it’s bad,” he said, telling KHOU he hopes the mailboxes will be fixed soon.

If you have a problem, call Grace Can Help at 713-521-HELP or email [email protected].