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Brooklyn%u2019s Post Office Gets A New MasterN ew Post O ffic e Division G eneral M anager Linda Sanchez is flanked by Jam es M cH ug h,P o s tm a ste r o f S taten Island, and Edw ard Lisciandro, P ostm aster o f Long Island C ity, tw oass is ta n ts in her effort to im prove m ail service in the division. (P hoenix/K irk Photo)Our workforce offered a wealth of talent that wasbeing squandered. Its members were hamstrung by aninefficient managment structure, outmoded proceduresand by inadequate technology.Continued from Pane Iceedings, and all her managers were there.S an ch ez .said th is n e w re a lig n m e n t ofupper-level management as crucial to the predicted improvement in service. %u201cIn 1986, the United States Postal Service faced a difficult problem,%u201d she said. %u201cOur workforce offered a wealth of talent that was being squandered. Its members were hamstrung by an inefficient management structure, by outmoded procedures and by inadequate technology.%u201dThe new system allows the process of change and improvement to be expedited, Sanchez explained. %u201cThe MSCS, Districts, regions and headquarters will not be centered in the divisions, of which Brooklyn is one. Managers best acquainted with local situations can now act on their own expertise and take their own initiatives %u2014 without waiting for the word from up high,%u201d she said.The new postal official will officially step into her position on June 7, but she already knows her priorities. She outlined two objectives for her tenure: presiding the best possible service for systems customers, and raising the morale of the Brooklyn Division employees. She acknowledged that she was aware of problems in the Zip Codes areas of 11217 and 11215, Park Slope, Boerum Hill, Ft. Greene and part of Downtown Brooklyn.As an immediate response to what she called %u201csome of things I have heard happened in Brooklyn,%u201d and %u201cpresent delivery service that is not totally acceptable,%u201d she said her administration would seek to expand staffing, fill vacancies and improve the processing of mail to create a more even mail flow.%u201cOur biggest challenge will be to get through the heavy vacation period this summer with the present available complementof carriers,%u201d she said. %u201cAfter the summer period, we hope to have already hired or processed to hire, carrier employees.%u201dPostal officials in the past have blamed inadequate staffing as a key element hindering the improvement of services in Brooklyn, particularly in the Park Slope 11217 zip code area. %u201cWe%u2019ll be giving examinations sometime in late June to create carrier hiring registers. Soon after that we can begin to actually hire and fill the 160 vacancies we now have,%u201d she explained.Delivery and mail processing operationswere another area where the improvements would begin immediately, she said. The mail flow from the main processing center in the General Post Office on Cadman Plaza to the stations will be increased, allowing earlier distribution to carrier routes, and effectively allowing for the post offices to schedule their delivery earlier.Late home deliveries have been one of the complaints from Park Slope residents, some of whom receive their mail after dark. Selected stations, including the Van Brunt Station, will have extended window servicehours starting June 19. The Van Brunt Station will have extended Thursday hours from 8am%u2666a 7r\\tr%u00bb A%u00bb%u00bbrl t k n i f ItA u m O____%u00bbm %u2022!/%u00ab ** w ii u ij m iiu i u a jr u v u t o h v u a iu wvs2pm.Sanchez was joined at the press conference by her newly chosen directors, another change that came about through the nationwide realignment. The posts of Director of Customer Services, Mail Processing, Labor and Employee Relations and Finance have been refitted into seven new positions, and Sanchez has chosen six of the seven thus far.Peter Baylis joins her staff as Field Director, Operations Support, Dennis Draney as Field Director, Marketing and Communication, Robert Fetterman as Controller, Field Division, Theresa Gaultieri as Field Director, Human Resources, Vincent Militello as Acting Director, Mail Process. Lou Viegas was the sole director retained from Lazard%u2019s administration and will act as Director, City Operations.Draney said that specific plans had been outlined to improve communications between the Post Office and its customers, which he expects to be in place by the end of the summer. %u201cWe will have Community Customer Counsels set up for expressing mutual concerns with problems in the system. This has never before been in place and was identified specifically for Brooklyn,%u201d he said. He also said a Postal Customer Counsel geared toward businesses would meet on a monthly basis.Sanchez voiced some long range goals in her concluding remarks. %u201cI look forward to making Brooklyn the No. 1 division in this region and our customers proud to be served by us,%u201d she said in closing.Families First in Cobble Hill Celebrates Spring With a FlingThere were plenty of happy faces atthe Fam ilies First Spring Fling. Thehighlight of the day w as the children'splay, %u201c A lice in W aterlan d ,\to a full-house of about 200. It w as theplay that created the m ost enthusiasmam ong the children and parents w hohelped out, and allow ed even th e fathersto get to know one another, says LindaBlyer, a coordinator at Fam ilies First. %u201c Interm s of goodw ill it was very successful,even though profits a fte r expenses wereonly about $700,%u201d she adds. (PhoenixPhotos by John Pearson).BY ROY NEVILLECoping with the task of being a parent is often a disorienting experience. Young mothers who have recently left the work force often experience feelings of alienation and loneliness are compounded as they find themselves home all day with their children, having less and less in common with old friends or former co-workers. These feelings are often compounded by a move to a new neighborhood and a new home as the family unit grows.For parents in Cobble Hill and surrounding neighborhoods there is support and help to be found at Families First, an independent notfor-profit organization started in 1980. It%u2019s main purpose, says Pat Velazquez, one of the coordinators, is to be an education and support center for families with young children, primarily birth to three years old.Last Saturday, Families First held its second annual %u201cSpring Fling%u201d, a celebration for parents and children complete with games, food, balloons, raffles, face painting and a pony ride. Beside the %u201cFling%u201d , funding for the group comes from a $75 yearly membership per family, and from events like the ongoing second-hand clothing sale, where parents can buy outgrown children%u2019s clothes donated by other members, or such extra activities as the performance of an originalplay, %u201cAlice in Waterland%u201d , by some seven and eight year olds.According to Velazquez, all proceeds go towards the group%u2019s other activities, which include adult workshops and weekly discussions aimed at improving family life and child development. Parents in Families First are urged to speak about experiences with their children and the counselors try to give some of the support needed to make the task of raising a healthy family less difficult, she says.Every weekday morning, Families First has drop-in sessions in its space at 250 Baltic St. Here, parents can become familiar with the organization while their children play with others in one of the toy-filled rooms or the backyard playground. A child care staff is available so that parents can meet and talk with other new parents without directly supervising their children. To put it simply, they get a chance to relax.Of the approximately 250 families in the program, several of the children have been coming since infancy, forming friendships that might last beyond these early years. For former printmaker Velazquez, who originally came to the group as a young mother, this is just the place new families need to get better in touch with the community.June 5, 1986, TH E P H O E N IX , Page 3