Saturday, June 14, 2025
Deon Smith, 35, was promoted to postmaster of the Franklin Square Post Office on March 8. The office, located on Hempstead Turnpike, has more than 30 employees—including eight clerks and 25 mail carriers—which serve 18 city routes throughout town.
A postmaster, Smith explained, is head of the post office and oversees the entire facility, ensuring everyone in town receives their mail.
Smith began as a city carrier assistant at the Hempstead Post Office on Fulton Street in 2017. He trained to be a supervisor two years later and became a full-time city carrier in 2020. In 2021, he became a full-time supervisor at the Roosevelt Post Office, and two years later became postmaster at the Williston Park Post Office.
In July 2024, the Franklin Square Post Office enlisted Smith as officer-in-charge after previous postmaster Meloney Hill resigned. Smith served in that role until his official promotion to postmaster in March.
Smith said he works long days, arriving at the office around 4:30 a.m. to ensure mail, which comes on a truck from local processing centers in New York City or Long Island, is unloaded. While he generally tries to leave around 2:30 p.m., he can stay as late as 6 p.m. if his supervisor, Elvis Jiminez, is not present, sometimes working more than 13 hours a day.
When Smith worked in Roosevelt, he said he attended community events to introduce himself so residents knew who he was and what he did. The post office there, he said, was highly involved in the community, attending job fairs and occasionally responding to non-medical emergencies. “We’re there for the community anyway we can be,” Smith said.
Smith said the level of involvement depends on the community. Because post office workers handle mail delivery and address complaints, he said it is important for residents to know them.
“It’s good to get involved with the community so they know who’s in charge, who they have to deal with and who’s dedicated to what’s going on in the town,” Smith said.
Michelle Borland, a senior clerk who has worked at the Franklin Square Post Office since November 1995, said the office has a friendly environment and the customers know her by name. “It’s just a nice office,” Borland said. “It’s bright in there.”
Borland said she has already learned a lot from Smith’s leadership. “Deon’s really great,” she said. “He’s understanding, and he works with you if there’s a problem.”
Jiminez, 51, who has been a supervisor at the post office since 2021 and has 26 years of postal service experience, said he feels Smith values his insight and is very approachable.
“He listens to what you have to say and your opinion,” Jiminez said.
Jiminez emphasized the importance of community involvement to promote products like stamps and passports, explaining that the post office receives no federal funding and relies on sales for revenue.
Borland agreed, recalling when post offices were more active in the community, attending street fairs and running mobile postal stations that distributed memorabilia like mugs, backpacks and stamps.
She said she hopes to see a return to those values in the future because it strengthens community connections.
“It feels good when people say, ‘I stick up for my post office,’ or ‘I love my mailman,’” Borland said. “Even when I’m out walking around, people always come up to me and say hi.”
As for Smith, he looks forward to strengthening the post office’s role in Franklin Square and hopes to build lasting connections with the community.
