Ravena gets its second mail box

RAVENA — Hard to believe, but until this month, there was only a single mail box in all of Ravena — the one outside the post office.

But now, thanks to a realized campaign promise by a local elected official, and the confluence of business and government, the community now has a second one.

A new mail box was installed in the first week of October at Faith Plaza, outside the CVS store.

Getting a second mail box installed was part of the political campaign of Village Trustee Mary Ellen Rosato, who was elected to the village board last March. But she said she first began working on the project about two years ago — going to other communities to see how they handle mail service and scouting out possible locations.

“I have thought about this for a while, and when I decided to run for office, I thought it would be something that would be good for everybody,” Rosato said. “It’s something everyone uses, regardless of what political party you are in.”

She looked at nearby Coxsackie, which is of a similar size to Ravena, and the much larger Delmar, where there are many mail boxes. For Ravena, she decided to see if she could get one put in at Faith Plaza because it is a main commercial hub for the community, home to a supermarket, bank, pharmacy and more.

“Faith Plaza seemed like a good location because it is central — people come to go grocery shopping, do their banking, get their prescriptions, and even if they aren’t coming to do business here, it’s an easy place to stop by to drop off your mail,” Rosato said.

So she approached plaza owner Aaron Flach, who came on board immediately.

“I asked Aaron Flach if this was a possibility, to put a mail box here, before I approached the post office,” Rosato said. “The family is very community minded, and he thought it was a great idea.”

Flach said the proposal was a good move.

“It’s a really convenient service to have for the community, at a place where a lot of residents go to shop,” Flach said. “It is win-win for the community.”

Once she had Flach’s stamp of approval, Rosato went to Ravena Postmaster Diane Degonzague.

“There was only one collection can (mail box) in Ravena, which is outside the post office. This will make things more convenient for the people of this community,” Degonzague said.

It’s been years since Ravena had more than a single mail box. At one point there were a handful of them, but they were removed years ago because they didn’t generate sufficient volume for the post office.

Degonzague said the new mail box is secure.

“It is equipped with a ‘fishing device’ that prevents theft so people can’t reach in and pull items out,” she said. “Your mail is protected once it is in the box.”

Mail dropped off at the new location will be picked up Mondays through Fridays at 4 p.m., and Saturdays at 3 p.m.

Rosato continues to work on another campaign promise she made — to bring a blood collection unit to Ravena, which would make it easier for local residents to have blood drawn when they need it.

That project could involve a mobile blood collection unit, or a station at a location in the village where blood can be drawn by appointment, saving residents the trouble of traveling to either Albany or Catskill to have the procedure done.

Rosato said that project is still in the works.