BROOKLYN/QUEENS/STATEN ISLAND, NY — It takes more than a few flakes to deter letter carriers from making their appointed rounds across New York’s five boroughs.

“But, if we cannot reach your mailbox, we cannot deliver your mail,” said Vito J. Cetta, District Manager, Executive-In-Charge for the Postal Service’s Triboro District.

“The Postal Service requires employees to treat safety and service with equal priority,” Cetta said, “That’s why we are reminding you to include the path leading to your mailbox in your snow removal routine.”

“Letter carriers are on the front line of severe weather conditions like many areas are experiencing today, he explained. For doorstep deliveries, painted porches and steps quickly grow hazardous. While salting and rubber-backed mats help, we rely on you to clear the snow. If there’s a warm spell, and the melting snow puddles, a quick freeze can make a sidewalk slick again.”

Residents who receive delivery to roadside mailboxes must also keep the approach to, and exit from, the mailbox clear of snow along with vehicles, trash cans or other obstacles.

“The carrier needs to get in, and then out, without leaving the vehicle,” explained Cetta. “The area near the mailbox should be cleared in a half-moon shape to give the carrier full visibility. You’ll make it safer for our carriers as well as pedestrians and drivers on the road.”

Cetta says that postal carriers are professional drivers who routinely travel over highways and into neighborhoods in various weather conditions. From that experience, he adds a few more tips.

“Watch for slow moving postal vehicles, carriers on foot, and children at play near mailboxes or snow banks. And don’t zip by neighbors who are clearing mailboxes or collecting their mail. Let’s all stay safe.”

Cetta represents the Postal Service’s Triboro District which delivers to ZIP Code areas 103-110-111-112-113-114-116, covering all of Flushing, Queens, Jamaica, Staten Island and Brooklyn New York.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no direct support from taxpayers. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.