Katy Neighborhood Mailbox Broken for Months with No Plan in Sight

KATY MAGAZINE NEWS

November 6, 2024

By Natalie Cook Clark

Neighbors in Katy’s Castlerock community are expressing concerns over a broken community mailbox that has been down and unusable for over three months.

Katy Student Waiting on College Admissions Letter

Katy Neighbors, who wish to remain anonymous, are concerned over a broken community mailbox in the Castlerock neighborhood. The mailbox has been unusable for over three months and many are expecting important mail correspondence.

“My wife has been needing to receive many important papers from the government, and my soon to graduate son, is supposed to receive papers from college applications,” says one neighbor.

Several neighbors have reached out to the local post office which is located off of Park Row and at time of publishing this story, they haven’t gotten any true response on if it’s being fixed or when.

“My nearest Postal Service has a horrible one star rating, and when we asked for our mail, they literally said, ‘I don’t know,’” said a neighbor. “It’s like they aren’t even doing their job.”

Over the year’s Katy Magazine has covered several similar cases to this. Many are still confused on who is responsible for the repairs be it the Postal Service or the HOA. In this case, however, concerned neighbors are not being directed to anyone to speak with on the issue. When they reach out to the Postal Service they are getting no answers and no solutions and haven’t been told they should reach out to the HOA.

The theft of or tampering of mail is considered a federal crime and those found guilty can receive up to 180 days in jail to 10 years in prison. Judges can also issue a fine from $4,000 to $10,000 and more if mail was stolen from the elderly or disabled.

Protect Your Mail

While residents can’t protect their mailboxes, there are some steps they can take to protect their mail.

Find out when mail gets delivered and pick it up within the hour.
Have a neighbor pick up your mail if you’re unavailable.
Request a mail hold when going on vacation or ask a neighbor to collect it.
Arrange for a private box at the local post office.

Katy Magazine reached out to the Postal Service and did not get a response. For now this community waits for answers and hopes they are able to get their mail from the local office, as a Katy student awaits information on his college future.

Residents with questions or concerns should contact their local Post Office by calling 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777) or their website.

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