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The Look Book Goes to the Jamaica Post Office

We spoke to USPS workers, many of whom are working ten- and 12-hour daily shifts to keep up with demand.

Shatia Davis. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Shatia Davis. Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Shatia Davis (pictured above), seven years in the Postal Service, lives in Far Rockaway, Queens.

How has it been lately?
Really hard. I do have two kids at home. One is a newborn; she just turned 8 months. My other daughter is 5. I work six days a week, 12 hours a day. By the time I get home, it’s late. Then I have to do everything I have to do and come back the next day. I’m scared. My daughter has asthma. I know a lot of people that have passed away from the virus. I just wish it would go away. I wish people would use their masks. The amount of packages going out is crazy, but I’d rather people order online than go to the stores.

How many a day?
Three hundred. It used to be about  140 a day. I’m out there delivering sofas, couches. In Jamaica Estates, some families have six kids and are getting 15 packages a day. I deliver to a lot of senior-citizen buildings, too. Those packages are basically all from QVC.

Rose Mathews, 14 years in the Postal Service, lives in Ozone Park, Queens. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Thomas Lam, 19 years in the Postal Service, lives in Fresh Meadows, Queens. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Nancy L. Cooper, 32 years, lives in Jamaica, Queens. Photo: Kyle Dorosz

What is your favorite part of the job?
Well, I’m the No. 1 trainer in the nation. It makes me proud to help people become better postal workers. And the second-best trainer in the nation is my best and dearest friend. She’s like a sister to me. I’m retiring in two days, so now she’ll be the No. 1.

Latisha Howard-Bussey, seven years in the Postal Service, lives in Springfield Gardens, Queens. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Frank Annuziata, 41 years in the Postal Service, lives in Yonkers, Westchester County. Photo: Kyle Dorosz

What is your route?
Route 40, which I’ve been on since 1987. I’m actually the senior carrier now. Took 21 years of getting bumped up as guys retired. What it means is nothing, I’ll tell you the truth.

Amardeep Mehta, one year in the Postal Service, lives in Briarwood, Queens. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Rafael Perez, 20 years in the Postal Service, lives in Ridgewood, Queens. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Jerry McDonald, 30 years in the Postal Service, lives in Jamaica, Queens. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Ezequiel Torres, three years in the Postal Service, lives in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Kent Hui, 12 years in the Postal Service, lives in New Hyde Park, Nassau County. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Xunzhen Shen, 19 years in the Postal Service, lives in Fresh Meadows, Queens. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Patricia Staley, 14 years in the Postal Service, lives in Queens Village, Queens. Photo: Kyle Dorosz

How long is your day?
Long: 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; 500 deliveries. But I love my customers. I just literally love them. There’s one elderly woman, my heart. I get her a sausage and egg with no cheese on a roll every day. Another woman, she lost her sister to COVID. I left her a flower on her step. We have to encourage one another.

Hazel Sharpe, four years in the Postal Service, lives in Suffolk County. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Ana Tejeda, ten years in the Postal Service, lives in Melrose, the Bronx. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Matthew Baez, four years in the Postal Service, lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Symone Harvey, three years in the Postal Service, lives in Hollis, Queens. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Kristina Hope, two years in the Postal Service, lives in Jamaica, Queens. Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Do you talk to the people on your route?
I do. They give me water and snacks, and I chat with them a bit. My kids call me nonstop while I’m out on my route. My son, who’s 3, says, “Mommy, what are you doing? I miss you.” My daughter says, “Mommy, can you go to the corner store and buy me some headphones?”

M.D. Hassan, one year in the Postal Service, lives in Jamaica, Queens. Photo: Kyle Dorosz

*This article appears in the June 8, 2020, issue of New York Magazine. Subscribe Now!

The Look Book Goes to the Jamaica Post Office