Congresswoman Holmes Norton demands response from USPS after DC neighbors report their mail is being stolen and burned

WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Neighbors who live at the Village at Dakota Crossing in DC's Fort Lincoln neighborhood say they want solutions after dealing with months of their mail being stolen and destroyed.

HOA President Daniel Hartmann says residents first noticed the theft in May when multiple cluster mailboxes were emptied out. "Folks would grab all the contents inside, take it outside the community either to Commadore Joshua Barney Drive or Fort Lincoln, and sort through it," Hartmann said. However he says that during the summer the issue got worse when residents found piles of mail burned in the Northeast community. 

One neighbor who asked to not be identified, told WUSA9 that during the early morning hours he witnessed a person lighting one of the piles and running away. He says he notified DC police, but the person was never caught. 

"I can't believe that our mail is not just being taken, but that it's being burned," Ted Abela who lives in the neighborhood told WUSA9. He says that the postal workers who serve the community have all provided the same explanation, "A key was taken somehow, or acquired somehow by these individuals."

Hartmann says the community members have reached out to multiple officials, but little has been done to solve the issue. "We know the investigation is ongoing and that's being handled, but we are requesting and the community is requesting that these locks be changed," he added. 

The issue has gotten the attention of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, whose office says they reached out to the US Postal Service on Aug. 1, requesting a community meeting. "My constituents in Ward 5 have raised concerns about mail being stolen, burned or otherwise destroyed, lost or not delivered.  This mail has included checks, traffic tickets, credit card statements and other important documents," Holmes Norton wrote in a letter sent to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. 

In the Sept. 23 letter Congresswoman Holmes Norton also wrote:

"Despite repeated inquiries from my office, USPS did not respond to my office until September 18, 2024, and said no such meeting could be held with my office until after November 5, 2024, because of a 45-day election blackout period.  It is unacceptable that USPS did not respond to my office until September 18, 2024, and it is unacceptable that USPS now refuses to meet with my office and the community until after November 5, 2024.  Given USPS’s failure to timely respond to my office, I urge USPS to meet with my office and Ward 5 residents no later than October 11, 2024, notwithstanding the blackout period.  If USPS will not meet with my office and Ward 5 residents until after November 5, 2024, I ask USPS to independently meet with Ward 5 residents no later than October 11, 2024."

Eric Samuel who lives in the impacted neighborhood says, that as a former employee of the Postmaster General's Office, he is disappointed with the lack of response. "He doesn't seem to be making it a priority to do it. It's kind of frustrating to know that an organization that I used to work for, that used to be really great, is not so great now," Samuel added. 

Congresswoman Holmes Norton is giving the Postmaster General six days to respond to this request.

The Postmaster General's Office did not respond to WUSA9's request for comment.