PETERSBURG – Mayor Jay Newman said he is going to ask U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) to help resolve an identity issue in Upper Township, where many people don’t know for certain where they live or work.
Newman gave as an example an Upper Township pizzeria that lists its address as Route 50 in Woodbine.
“There is no Route 50 in Woodbine,” Newman said.
In fact, there is no Upper Township in Woodbine.
Newman said Upper Township is served by five or six zip codes and they don’t necessarily correspond to a town or section of the township, resulting in near neighbors saying they live in different communities. A quick Google search for Upper Township zip codes revealed seven zip codes: 08223, 08226, 08230, 08243, 08248, 08268, and 08270.
“The zip codes cross township and even county lines,” Newman said.
Newman, who first brought up the issue in February, said it was not an identity issue but a matter of public safety. He said there have been cases where people call 911 and say they are in Ocean View, for example, when they live elsewhere. The difference in time for emergency services to respond could be critical. He said he attempted to straighten out the issue with the U.S. Postal Service years ago, saying his communication was “met with disdain.”
“They said zip codes were not meant to be geographical boundaries,” Newman said.
Gary Lechner, a resident who had reached out to Newman prior to the meeting, said he is looking forward to a resolution to the matter. He has lived in the same location for 43 years and now operates a sort of mail-order business out of his home. However, he can’t get the post office to deliver to his Tuckahoe address. He said one letter carrier told him, “I don’t get paid to deliver to Tuckahoe.”
Lechner said there is no mail delivery where he lives and he pays $130 per year for a post office box, but items are still being marked as undeliverable. He feels the postal workers are just being lazy. Lechner said he was forced to use the Tuckahoe Post Office address as his mailing address in order to get packages.
Newman said this is not simply a matter of getting pizza or packages, but it can also affect real estate values and the township’s ability to apply for grants.
“I have a big problem with this,” he said. “Let’s move forward on this.”
One resident asked if Woodbine had ever been a part of Upper Township, which might explain the boundary issue. Newman said he had no recollection of it being so, but Committeeman Curtis Corson said the county was once only three townships, Upper, Middle, and Lower townships.
“Now there are 16 municipalities,” he said.
Corson said it is probable that Woodbine and Dennis Township were once a part of Upper Township.
In February, Newman said there was a problem identifying the location of downed power lines because people were using different names for the community where they lived. He said people say they live in Upper Township and give their address as Woodbine or Ocean View, neither of which are a part of Upper Township. He said people were giving addresses to emergency services, saying they live in one community when they actually reside in another.
Newman mentioned in February that he wanted to reach out to Van Drew, but, July 24, asked that the letter be drafted.
In February, Corson said the township had previously had discussions with Van Drew’s predecessor, Frank LoBiondo, and they received a lot of pushback from the postal service.
Corson also said at the earlier meeting that people who are incorrectly using Ocean View as their address might want to reconsider, as it might put them in a flood zone.
Van Drew’s spokesperson, Ashley Brown, stated in an email, “Of course the Congressman would be willing to speak to USPS on behalf of the town, but he has not yet received the letter from Mayor Newman. Changing the entire zip code system is a huge undertaking that should not be taken lightly, but the Congressman is always willing to try and help.”
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
