SAN ANTONIO — Tenants at the Sorento Apartments found their mailboxes broken once again in late January. They said the boxes had been damaged before but this time it was especially bad.
"The mailboxes for five buildings are broken," Nyree Mardi, the daughter of one tenant, said. "The whole front has been ripped open so the mail carrier is unable to leave the mail there."
The U.S. Postal Service was able to hold the apartment tenants' mail at a nearby postal station. Still, many of the apartment complex's tenants are elderly and don't drive. Tenants said they did talk to apartment management at the time, but the answers were inconsistent.
"I told the office about it and they told me I would have to tell the post office. The post office said I would need to let the manager know here," Gloria Escamilla said.
KENS 5 did speak to management at the Sorento Apartments but the manager refused to comment and would only direct KENS 5 to the corporate office.
When KENS 5 contacted the U.S. Postal Service about the issue, a spokeswoman confirmed that USPS knew about this and other mail issues at the Sorento Apartments. USPS confirmed that it was the apartment complex's responsibility to fix and secure the mailboxes.
In early February, USPS sent a statement that said, in part:
"Local postal management is aware of an ongoing issue regarding damaged mail receptacles at the Sorento Apartments. Currently, the condition of the mail receptacles does not allow for secure delivery of mail. Postal Service guidelines specify that postal customers are responsible for ensuring appropriate mail receptacles are provided for the receipt of mail. Further, the purchase, installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of mail receptacles are the customer’s responsibility, or apartment property management companies and homeowners associations (HOA), where applicable. Local postal management is working with the property management company, which is responsible for the repair of the receptacles at this complex, to resolve the issue."
KENS 5 called and emailed Fairfield Residential, the complex's management company, multiple times over the following week and contacted the state property manager, the national property management VP, and the company's executive leadership.
While none of these individuals responded, residents reported changes at the complex within a week.
USPS confirmed the mailboxes were fixed by February 13. When KENS 5 returned to the property, we found new walls blocking the entrance to the mail center and a new door to the mail center that could be locked.
"They did a good job," tenant Shevawn Ware said. "They put a door up, a locked door, and they fixed my mailbox...It makes me feel real good and safe. My mail is safe now."
Ware had lived at the complex for several years and she said the mailboxes were never secured until someone called KENS 5.
"If it wasn't for you guys it would have never happened," Ware said. "Thank you KENS for helping out."
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