Text size:

Minivan slams into Oceanside post office

No one's hurt, but extensive damage done to lobby, officials say

BY JOHN VALENTI AND MATTHEW CHAYES | john.valenti@newsday.com matthew.chayes@newsday.com

3:31 PM EDT, August 8, 2008

An minivan swerving to avoid a collision with another car went out of control Friday and crashed into the lobby of the Oceanside Post Office, causing extensive damage to the building, police and postal officials said.

No one was injured in the 8 a.m. crash. The driver of the minivan declined medical attention at the scene, according to a Nassau police spokesman.

The crash caused an estimated $20,000 worth of damage to the building at 80 Atlantic Ave. at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue.

But postal patrons can still pick up mail, buy stamps and send letters at the office.

The acting postmaster, Francis Iannucci, said at least 50 employees were in the building at the time of the crash, among them letter carriers preparing for their morning routes.

But the counter area of the post office was not open at the time -- and just one male customer was in the lobby area, near the post-office boxes and a vending machine, when the minivan careered into the building.

A postal supervisor, Anton Miskulin, 32, of Whitestone, said the man saw the minivan coming and jumped out of the way.

"This guy says, 'Uh oh,'" Miskulin said, adding: "He was just, like, in shock."

A U.S. Postal Service regional spokesman, Tom Gaynor, said safety and facility inspectors would determine if there was any structural damage to the building. Iannucci said a preliminary examination of the building -- built in the early 1960s -- appeared to indicate that the crash did not cause any structural damage.

The building owner, Alan Wasserman, said repairs should be done by the beginning of next week. Wasserman's firm, Wassco Properties, leases the building to the Postal Service.

A temporary mobile service center has been parked on Atlantic Avenue to assist postal customers until the building is reopened.

Meanwhile, customers can also use the U.S. Post Office centers in nearby East Rockaway, Rockville Centre and Baldwin.