NORTH BRANCH — It's been several years in the making, but the people of North Branch and the surrounding community now have a brand new post office to call their own. Officials and staff members of the United States Postal Service (USPS) cut the ribbon at 60 County Road 122 on Tuesday morning - Election Day.

The North Branch Post Office was forced to move from its original site in 2016 due to a fuel oil spill in the basement of the building they were leasing space in. At that time the building also contained apartments and falling ice had ruptured a fuel line which then filled into the basement underneath the post office.

“The fumes and the odor just wouldn't go away. Our staff were getting headaches,” said Administrative Postmaster Patricia Meyer.

For the next four years, residents then had to travel to Callicoon Center to use the post office on Gulf Road.

In the meantime, USPS officials held a community contact meeting at the North Branch firehouse in 2017 and then followed up on several leads before ending up at their newest location.

“It's beautiful. We couldn't be happier. Meyer said speaking of their new location. “We're very happy to be able to offer the North Branch people their own post office again.”

Acting Manager of Post Office Operations Jamie Burns echoed that sentiment, saying “We're excited to serve the community and the customers at this location.”

Burns' jurisdiction covers nearly 150 post offices spread across Sullivan, Ulster, Greene and Columbia Counties as well as part of Delaware County.

The new North Branch Post Office's retail hours are from 8 a.m. until noon, but they do offer a 24-hour lobby with P.O. boxes for rent so customers have access to their mail any time of the day.

“For a rural community where you can get your packages and your mail on a Sunday or after work during the week is ideal,” said Burns.