Such is the mythology the US Postal Service would have us believe about the Berkeley Post Office. You see, Postal Service lawyers were caught lying to a Federal judge in a hearing on December 11th about the City of Berkeley's lawsuit against the sale of its downtown Post Office.
I was there in the courtroom. I heard them lie. They argued to the judge that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the downtown Berkeley Post Office was "no longer for sale." But a quick check immediately after the hearing showed that it was still listed as being "for sale" on the Postal Service's property listing website, and the listing remained there for weeks.
It is true that some time in January they took the listing down - presumably so that they could make a non-pants-on-fire argument in their new motion to dismiss that it really wasn't for sale any longer. But just days ago a local reporter wrote
Although the Berkeley post office has been removed from the listings, "that does not mean we are still not pursuing the sale of the building," said USPS spokesperson Augustine Ruiz in an email.
So they're still selling it - it's just not for sale. And they really are trying to tell that to the judge on March 19th, the date of the next hearing.
The fight against the sale of the Berkeley Post Office, one battle in a bigger fight against the privatization of the Postal Service and the sale of our Commons, has gone on for two and a half years now.
It has seen one zoning ordinance passed (forbidding use of the property and the other buildings in the encompassing Historic District for private purposes), two Occupations (one ongoing), three lawsuits, four local organizations in opposition, multiple rallies and concerts on its steps and last, but not least, a "Garden of Common Good" established on the property just weeks ago (it's Berkeley AND it's global warming - the fact that this is January is not an issue!).
The Post Office has been visited by Ralph Nader, Barbara Lee, and Einstein (an internationally famous Oakland mayoral candidate), all decrying the possibility of sale.
Undaunted, Postal Service management continues to be determined to sell the property. Lawsuits can only hold them off so long. The lawsuits argue that the Postal Service has failed to comply with various rules and regulations concerning the sale of Post Office property, and postal management could, in the end, ultimately agree to follow the rules, dotting their i's and cross their t's, and generating the time-consuming but necessary reports.
The will of the people is equally undaunted, as evidenced by the continued occupation, the new garden, and a recent push by Save the Berkeley Post Office and Commonomics to re-energize the campaign for postal banking as promoted by the Inspector General of the Post Office and by Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Created and maintained by gardeners and organizations in our community. Please join us in planting and caring for our commons while helping us to protest our Post Office from theft and privatization. Gardening: Saturdays at noon.