Allston Post Office Fight: Wu Says Boston Ready to Sue USPS

The Allston post office fight escalated Monday, Oct. 5, when Mayor Michelle Wu told a rally on Harvard Avenue that Boston is ready to challenge the U.S. Postal Service legally if it does not reverse plans to permanently close the branch, Universal Hub and Watertown News reported. USPS says no final decision has been made.

Allston Post Office: How the Closure Fight Began

USPS closed the Allston branch at 19 Harvard Ave. in 2019 because of structural problems with the building, and told Wu in June 2025 that it would reopen, according to Axios Boston. The site was redeveloped, and the agency entered lease talks for space in the new building. In September, residents received letters saying USPS may close the branch permanently and had begun a formal discontinuance study. We first reported the closure plan and city pushback on Sept. 27.

City Council President Liz Breadon, who represents Allston-Brighton, said about 87,000 residents in the two neighborhoods would share a single post office in Brighton, while Newton, with a similar population, has 10, Axios reported.

What Wu and Other Officials Said

“That is unacceptable,” Wu said, according to Watertown News, arguing that the closure would burden small businesses that ship orders, older residents and non-native English speakers who need in-person help with forms, and customers already facing longer waits at other branches. Wu has sent a formal request to Postmaster General David Steiner and the USPS district manager to meet with city officials and affected residents, GBH News reported.

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley called the branch closures part of a “coordinated campaign” to privatize postal services. Pressley, Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Katherine Clark and Stephen Lynch called the closures “unacceptable” in a letter to Steiner, Axios reported. State Sen. Will Brownsberger, state Rep. Kevin Honan and Watertown City Council President Mark Sideris, whose city lost its Watertown Square post office in 2024, also spoke.

Fields Corner Branch Also Closing

The rally also took aim at the Fields Corner post office on Adams Street in Dorchester, which USPS plans to close Oct. 26 when its lease expires. USPS calls that closure temporary but has not given a reopening timeline. City Councilor John FitzGerald and George Huynh of VietAID spoke in support of the branch. Our earlier report on the Fields Corner closure has details.

USPS Response and What Comes Next

In a written statement to GBH News, USPS said it “has complied with, and is currently complying with, applicable official regulations” for locations being studied for permanent closure, and that “final decisions are subject to review by the Postal Regulatory Commission.” A regional spokesperson told Axios no final Allston decision has been made, and USPS told lawmakers in July it must weigh multimillion-dollar spending carefully given its finances.

USPS is accepting public comment on the Allston closure until Oct. 11, GBH reported. The Boston Report found no record of a lawsuit filed as of Wednesday morning. The city is already suing the federal government in a separate case over a canceled $20 million Roxbury street grant. For more on Wu’s recent political moves, see our report on her endorsement of Gov. Healey.