WHEATFIELD, N.Y. (WIVB) — Residents of the Whistling Straits neighborhood in the Town of Wheatfield are still paying for P.O. Boxes at the Sanborn Post Office just to receive their mail.
“There’s other new developments in the area that are being approved for individual mailboxes, and we are not,” said Deborah Dudek. “So it’s like, we sit back and go, why us? We don’t understand.”
In August, Congressman Tim Kennedy wrote a letter to the U.S. Postmaster General for a second time demanding help for these residents but received yet another denial from the U.S. Postal Service.
“The United States Postal Service needs to get out of their own way, step up, and deliver for this community,” said Kennedy.
Kennedy said he will not stop advocating for these residents and will continue to work with town leaders and the post office to find a solution.
The Postal Service maintains that once cluster box units are installed, they will be able to deliver mail to the neighborhood. Residents say this won’t happen.
“The town is unwilling, the town is only saying they’ll allow a cluster box on an individual property, not on town property. So they’re leaving the liability and the ability to get mail on a single homeowner willing to volunteer to let 35 homes drive up their driveway,” said Dudek.
Dudek said from her understanding, if a resident decided to have the cluster box on their property, they would be responsible for anything that could happen while getting their mail, protecting the mail in general, as well as the upkeep of the cluster box.
“We would be responsible for all of that,” said Dudek.
The Wheatfield Town Attorney weighed in on the issue back in August, telling WIVB News 4 that the town tried to work with the Sanborn Postmaster but were “rebuffed.”
We’ve since reached back to the town and the Sanborn Post Office for a response to those concerns and are still waiting to hear back.
As for the residents, they’re still paying for P.O. Boxes.
“We’re paying thousands of dollars in taxes,” said resident Oge Williams, “and we’re supporting the services that the Post Office provides. And then we don’t get the services?”
One Sanborn resident we spoke to who lives outside of the Whistling Straits neighborhood told News 4: “I live on Pearl Street, the street right next to the post office. I do not get postal delivery to my house, but I am provided a free post office box.”
Williams raised the question of getting free P.O. boxes and did not have the same luck.
“I went down to the post office and said, ‘Well, can we at least get the P.O. box complimentary since it’s not our fault? We’re not refusing mail, you’re not delivering mail, and we were told that they could not,” she said.
The inconsistency has left residents frustrated and confused.
“Why we have not been able to figure this stuff out is beyond me,” said Adam Williams.
A family that moved into the neighborhood about a week ago said it was never notified of this issue.
“We found out like two weeks (ago) just from the previous news story. We found out and reached out to our selling realtor, and she had no idea apparently,” said Ray Begeris.
Moving forward, the neighbors of Whistling Straits hope a solution is found sooner rather than later.
“It’s very frustrating that something as trivial as mail service cannot be figured out; there has to be a compromise somewhere,” said Williams.
When asked what residents plan to do now, Dudek said: “We have been speaking with an attorney for quite some time, but on Monday we will be meeting with the attorney to see what our next steps are.”
Neighbors say they will not stop fighting for this service they deserve.
Angelica Gallagher is a Lancaster native who joined the News 4 team in 2025. See more of her work here.
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