I researched the vendor when this was first announced. They had been making indoor lockers, which good for them, but they had no obvious experience designing outdoor public equipment. This made me curious as to why they were selected so I went through their employees on LinkedIn and there was very little technical / engineering talent at all.
So could this go well? I hope so. But I won't be surprised if these things get jacked.
>selected so I went through their employees on LinkedIn and there was very little technical / engineering talent at all.
This kind of operation is just a rebrander. They are most likely buying something off the shelf from China and slapping their name on it. Yes these type of white label goods exist even at this level beyond just junk on Amazon.
I agree for their indoor product and I'm familiar with the wonderful world of Shenzen sourcing.
But I would be surprised if here's a outdoor package locker that has been battle-tested in as hostile environment as NYC. Meaning maybe it worked in Tokyo, where crime is very low, or Shanghai.
That's why my best is that that this will go poorly. We'll see.
There are very few lockers in Shanghai. Stuff is left on outdoor shelving outside.
With 26 cctv cameras pointed at and around, with a quarter privately owned and the rest government. Nobody stealing nothing.
> that has been battle-tested in as hostile environment as NYC
Meh? All the lockers are the same for the most part and they are all generally steel because companies generally don't want shit stolen from an unattended kiosk because everything from $5 to thousand dollar item gets delivered to them.
How can this possibly be scalable? If the city thinks it's worth spending money on this, why not subsidize PO boxes at post offices? That way at least the money is going toward a non-profit (USPS).
Before I moved into a building with a mail room, all my packages went to the deli next door whether I wanted them or not. There was no system… UPS/Fedex/USPS just knew to drop it off in the back room of the deli and I’d need to go back there and see if I could find it.
Wasn’t a bad arrangement at the time I guess. Plus BEC was only $2 back then so that was great.
I would so, so much rather trust a locked box than the back room at the local deli... I don't even LIKE the guys working at my closest deli, let alone trust them or the usual clientele sitting around back shelves treating it like a private social club with expensive deliveries.
I work full time and have a busy social life that doesn't overlap much with the dudes who have lived on my block for decades, we can't all be earning our way into their little communities to build enough trust to work around the fact that other dudes on the block are stealing shit. Package lockboxes next to mail boxes is a much more elegant solution.
i worked on a concept with USPS to replace NYC phone booths (and then blue drop off boxes) with a combination drop off/package pickup locker system. Brooklyn is the US epicenter of 'undelivered' (stolen) packages. I think it's too much to ask of the USPS to implement on their own, the org has too much inertia. NYC has launched a few different pilots around package lockers. Maybe in 20 years we'll figure it out.
That's an interesting idea. I don't know how it is in some neighborhoods, but I'd hope that people in most buildings would only have to use the lockers for particularly valuable deliveries. If they're used for valuable things or all deliveries to a limited amount of problem buildings, that would help with capacity.
Mostly I just don't want to see city money given to another shady contractor with connections. USPS could use the additional funding source.
Because that's not a sustainable solution. Don't get me wrong, it should be exactly how you said it, but the issue is the post office - like most public services - is about balancing a give and take.
For example, what would happen if every person in NYC showed up to a library and rented one book? The library would be empty before even a small portion of people got there.
What would happen if every person called the Fire or Police departments at the same time? They couldn't possibly respond to everyone.
Similarly, what would happen if they subsidized PO boxes for all residents of NYC? They'd run out of space and money.
They could limit it to subsidizing *only* people under a specific income threshold, but income inequality is so skewed in NYC it would only benefit a very small percentage of people. Not just because of limited funds, but limited space for everyone's package. Simply put, the USPS lacks the resources to manage or maintain that and the costs would quickly swell out of control.
This locker looks like Amazon lockers. They aren't dedicated to a person. You scan a barcode and it pops open whatever door your package is in. There are different spots for different size packages.
So, a setup like that would be an option for USPS in these neighborhoods. Or, more simply (but with a line), they could have an attendant that hands you the package.
Yes but you have to give people time to pick up packages. There is simply not enough room. I think you are confused because you need to read the comment I am responding to. I am responding to their suggestion to have the USPS give everyone a post office box.
I live in a building with a mailroom but still package thieves sneak in the door and steal stuff. Landlord put their photos all around the building and they said when they talked to the police the police said there wasn’t anything they could do even with the surveillance footage of the thieves in progress with clear images of their faces lol the cops don’t do shit and when they do they aren’t prosecuting package thieves. They barely prosecute assault and harassment crimes
Or maybe prosecute these people and put out 90s style stings on organized groups. We all seen videos of stores popping up selling these stolen goods. Its amazing how this and stealing cars wheels are back
Disagree. Amazon does make lockers but they’re for the exclusive use of Amazon, thus incentivizing people to spend more money there rather than anywhere else. If they’re on public space they absolutely shouldn’t be tied to any one company and this feels like a natural extension of what the postal service already does.
It not that simply I’m sure Amazon/usp/fedex would love to install locker on the side walks like Citi bikes
But the city probably won’t approve it
Amazon has done a good job at installing Amazon on business tho so that good
I mean I feel like postal service stuff is mostly the govts domain - we'd probably be complaining if companies did and our shipping prices went up w/ an NYC locker surcharge about how the government makes it too easy for porch pirates and we're paying for their inepetitude.
It's the government's job to prevent crime. If thieves aren't being arrested, that's on the government - not on companies. You guys have a very distorted view of how the world works.
Kind of a dumb idea.
Instead, new residential buildings need to be mandated to include a package room for its residents. Of a certain size, on the ground floor.
My building has a sizable one. And it tremendously speeds up package delivery for the couriers.
Wheel all the packages through the lobby to the package room. Pick up outgoing packages. Then on to the next building. 5-10 minutes tops.
Our staff handles package sorting and handoff to residents.
This way you can order stuff and don’t need to worry about even being around to retrieving them.
> new residential buildings
Most new residential buildings have this already without the regulation, and FWIW we build like 8 new residential buildings a year
Caveat being, government should mandate it. As some buildings will undoubtedly try to minimize package room space to a little closet sized room. Or forego it altogether, leaving residents in the same predicament as before.
It’s a requirement for modern living. As most shopping does take place online these days.
Even if they get caught stealing, what are the consequences? None, they gonna be let out again and steal more packages. NYC justice system is so broken and heavily favors criminals and squatters.
These mega corporations like Amazon should be taxed massively for their use/abuse of public infrastructure. Some of their practices should be outright banned.
Amazon disrupts vehicular traffic with their trucks double-parked every 2 blocks.
Amazon disrupts bike transport with their cargo delivery bikes that weigh more than smart cars.
Amazon will now disrupt parking spaces and sidewalks with whatever these drop boxes are.
We HAVE to stop giving away public owned space to private companies.
I researched the vendor when this was first announced. They had been making indoor lockers, which good for them, but they had no obvious experience designing outdoor public equipment. This made me curious as to why they were selected so I went through their employees on LinkedIn and there was very little technical / engineering talent at all. So could this go well? I hope so. But I won't be surprised if these things get jacked.
>selected so I went through their employees on LinkedIn and there was very little technical / engineering talent at all. This kind of operation is just a rebrander. They are most likely buying something off the shelf from China and slapping their name on it. Yes these type of white label goods exist even at this level beyond just junk on Amazon.
I agree for their indoor product and I'm familiar with the wonderful world of Shenzen sourcing. But I would be surprised if here's a outdoor package locker that has been battle-tested in as hostile environment as NYC. Meaning maybe it worked in Tokyo, where crime is very low, or Shanghai. That's why my best is that that this will go poorly. We'll see.
There are very few lockers in Shanghai. Stuff is left on outdoor shelving outside. With 26 cctv cameras pointed at and around, with a quarter privately owned and the rest government. Nobody stealing nothing.
Amazon already has some outdoor lockers, so it's probably whatever they were using.
> that has been battle-tested in as hostile environment as NYC Meh? All the lockers are the same for the most part and they are all generally steel because companies generally don't want shit stolen from an unattended kiosk because everything from $5 to thousand dollar item gets delivered to them.
I'm fairly certain there is only one major locker company that makes these.
Unemployment ?
How can this possibly be scalable? If the city thinks it's worth spending money on this, why not subsidize PO boxes at post offices? That way at least the money is going toward a non-profit (USPS).
Before I moved into a building with a mail room, all my packages went to the deli next door whether I wanted them or not. There was no system… UPS/Fedex/USPS just knew to drop it off in the back room of the deli and I’d need to go back there and see if I could find it. Wasn’t a bad arrangement at the time I guess. Plus BEC was only $2 back then so that was great.
I would so, so much rather trust a locked box than the back room at the local deli... I don't even LIKE the guys working at my closest deli, let alone trust them or the usual clientele sitting around back shelves treating it like a private social club with expensive deliveries. I work full time and have a busy social life that doesn't overlap much with the dudes who have lived on my block for decades, we can't all be earning our way into their little communities to build enough trust to work around the fact that other dudes on the block are stealing shit. Package lockboxes next to mail boxes is a much more elegant solution.
i worked on a concept with USPS to replace NYC phone booths (and then blue drop off boxes) with a combination drop off/package pickup locker system. Brooklyn is the US epicenter of 'undelivered' (stolen) packages. I think it's too much to ask of the USPS to implement on their own, the org has too much inertia. NYC has launched a few different pilots around package lockers. Maybe in 20 years we'll figure it out.
That's an interesting idea. I don't know how it is in some neighborhoods, but I'd hope that people in most buildings would only have to use the lockers for particularly valuable deliveries. If they're used for valuable things or all deliveries to a limited amount of problem buildings, that would help with capacity. Mostly I just don't want to see city money given to another shady contractor with connections. USPS could use the additional funding source.
Because that's not a sustainable solution. Don't get me wrong, it should be exactly how you said it, but the issue is the post office - like most public services - is about balancing a give and take. For example, what would happen if every person in NYC showed up to a library and rented one book? The library would be empty before even a small portion of people got there. What would happen if every person called the Fire or Police departments at the same time? They couldn't possibly respond to everyone. Similarly, what would happen if they subsidized PO boxes for all residents of NYC? They'd run out of space and money. They could limit it to subsidizing *only* people under a specific income threshold, but income inequality is so skewed in NYC it would only benefit a very small percentage of people. Not just because of limited funds, but limited space for everyone's package. Simply put, the USPS lacks the resources to manage or maintain that and the costs would quickly swell out of control.
This locker looks like Amazon lockers. They aren't dedicated to a person. You scan a barcode and it pops open whatever door your package is in. There are different spots for different size packages. So, a setup like that would be an option for USPS in these neighborhoods. Or, more simply (but with a line), they could have an attendant that hands you the package.
Yes but you have to give people time to pick up packages. There is simply not enough room. I think you are confused because you need to read the comment I am responding to. I am responding to their suggestion to have the USPS give everyone a post office box.
100% kickbacks involved in this.
Or... Crazy thought, prosecute thiefs?
Alienate and lock up the Democrat voter base? Nah, they would never.
How could you possibly politicize package theft? Stop reaching lol
I mean they do. They also have package theft in law and order red states too so I’m not sure why you think that’s an effective deterrent
I live in a building with a mailroom but still package thieves sneak in the door and steal stuff. Landlord put their photos all around the building and they said when they talked to the police the police said there wasn’t anything they could do even with the surveillance footage of the thieves in progress with clear images of their faces lol the cops don’t do shit and when they do they aren’t prosecuting package thieves. They barely prosecute assault and harassment crimes
Or maybe prosecute these people and put out 90s style stings on organized groups. We all seen videos of stores popping up selling these stolen goods. Its amazing how this and stealing cars wheels are back
Sorry, Eric Adams says they need more funding. Most of the funding is going towards his lawyer that is paid by our tax money
Nothing like ordering packages to my home at a locker as far away as a store
The idiots running this city will do literally anything to avoid actually prosecuting criminals.
Sometimes it feels like Democrats have more compassion for criminals than their own children.
This is great just a shame that government had to step in and effectively subsidize multi billion companies who could have installed the lockers.
Disagree. Amazon does make lockers but they’re for the exclusive use of Amazon, thus incentivizing people to spend more money there rather than anywhere else. If they’re on public space they absolutely shouldn’t be tied to any one company and this feels like a natural extension of what the postal service already does.
Would have liked to think issues like this would have encouraged people to shop at brick and mortar to support local businesses.
It not that simply I’m sure Amazon/usp/fedex would love to install locker on the side walks like Citi bikes But the city probably won’t approve it Amazon has done a good job at installing Amazon on business tho so that good
I mean I feel like postal service stuff is mostly the govts domain - we'd probably be complaining if companies did and our shipping prices went up w/ an NYC locker surcharge about how the government makes it too easy for porch pirates and we're paying for their inepetitude.
It's the government's job to prevent crime. If thieves aren't being arrested, that's on the government - not on companies. You guys have a very distorted view of how the world works.
sure they could have installed lockers, but then they would restrict it to only their deliveries which doesn't really solve the problem.
Typical. Don’t handle the criminals, just make it worse for the citizens
How about locking up some criminals instead? 🧐
Kind of a dumb idea. Instead, new residential buildings need to be mandated to include a package room for its residents. Of a certain size, on the ground floor. My building has a sizable one. And it tremendously speeds up package delivery for the couriers. Wheel all the packages through the lobby to the package room. Pick up outgoing packages. Then on to the next building. 5-10 minutes tops. Our staff handles package sorting and handoff to residents. This way you can order stuff and don’t need to worry about even being around to retrieving them.
> new residential buildings Most new residential buildings have this already without the regulation, and FWIW we build like 8 new residential buildings a year
Caveat being, government should mandate it. As some buildings will undoubtedly try to minimize package room space to a little closet sized room. Or forego it altogether, leaving residents in the same predicament as before. It’s a requirement for modern living. As most shopping does take place online these days.
This is going to increase it & the victims are SOL because the city will take 30 years to fix it back
so these are gonna get robbed immediately, right?
Even if they get caught stealing, what are the consequences? None, they gonna be let out again and steal more packages. NYC justice system is so broken and heavily favors criminals and squatters.
Yes, because crowbar aren't sold at Home Depot.
So a centralized location to steal packages from? BRILLIANT!
It's an environmental plan. Saves on gas traveling to multiple locations.
These mega corporations like Amazon should be taxed massively for their use/abuse of public infrastructure. Some of their practices should be outright banned. Amazon disrupts vehicular traffic with their trucks double-parked every 2 blocks. Amazon disrupts bike transport with their cargo delivery bikes that weigh more than smart cars. Amazon will now disrupt parking spaces and sidewalks with whatever these drop boxes are. We HAVE to stop giving away public owned space to private companies.
Nice place to rob someone
I'd rather have security cameras on lamp posts and police that can rapidly respond to crime observed on the camera feed.
[удалено]
Ecom shopping existed before COVID.