NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New York’s iconic old blue mailboxes with pull-down trays are headed for extinction after being long-time targets for thieves who fish out envelopes containing cash and checks using glue-covered bottles and rodent traps as bait.
Manhattan Chief of Detective Bill Aubrey said last year, “You have the person who actually does the fishing, and then at the end, you have the person cashing the checks.”
Warnings have recently been issued for mailbox theft in the Bronx, Queens and Yonkers.
Approximately 7,000 mailboxes in New York City are being retrofitted with mail slots only large enough for letters, meaning if you need to mail a padded envelope or a small package, you will need to make a trip to the post office.
The USPS calls the new blue mailboxes the “Cadillac” of mailboxes. The postal service has been in the process of replacing the mailboxes over the past two years.
The NYPD has seen the number of fishing incidents drop dramatically as the new mailboxes have started to be installed.