The post office on Willowbrook Avenue in downtown Compton was one of 3,000 across the nation that in August 2011 was put on a list of possible closures, and while the postal service has put the shutdowns on hold for all of 2012, pending action by Congress, local activists continue to have meetings to gather support for keeping the facility open.
According to spokesperson Richard Maher, the postal service lost $15 billion last year (70 percent of which was due to a law Congress passed that accelerated payments to prefunded retirement.)
In order to make up the losses, the post office created a formula that would allow it to close facilities that were in close proximity to another and that were not as busy.
Maher said there are three post offices in Compton, and that the Willowbrook location fit the criteria, even though it is only yards from City Hall and the Superior Court building.
But Royce Esters, head of the National Association for Equal Justice in America (NAJEA), the group leading the charge to keep the Willowbrook station open, says the location is much needed.
It is also conveniently located right off a MTA Blue Line stop.
