The next nearest post office is about 0.5 kilometres way. Many customers do not drive and go to this outlet because it is within walking distance of their homes or their community centre, said Jenny Kwan, the NDP MP for Vancouver East.
“You have to remember we’re talking about community members in their 70s, 80s and even 90s. Walking is not an easy task,” Kwan said.
Some mail pickups are being redirected to Commercial Drive, nearly 3.5 kilometres away, according to SaveChinatownYVR.
“This post office serves some of the city’s most vulnerable and marginalized residents: low-income individuals, seniors, migrants, and people with disabilities who rely on physical mail for vital government documents, income assistance cheques, health care information, and personal communication,” the organization wrote on a recent social media post.
Kwan said she was alerted to the closure several weeks ago by a post office user who saw a notice tacked on the door.
She said the closure would be “devastating” for Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside neighbourhoods, which are already struggling with poverty, mental illness and housing and the opioid crises.
