Beloved Counter Person Retires After Nearly 20 Yrs at Columbus Ave P.O.

Hopefully customers won’t be going postal, now that one of the most beloved counter people ever is retiring from her window at the US Post Office on Columbus Ave.

For nearly four decades, Angie Serrano has been a familiar face at the U.S. Post Office, serving her community with heart, humility, and humanity. The Spirit caught up to Serrano on her last day on the job April 30 at the post office at 400 Columbus Ave where she has worked for nearly two decades in a 39-year career.

“I love to help people and I like working with people. I’m a people person,” Serrano says. “I was always taught to do for others what I would want them to do for me.” And she has done just that always going the extra inch, not breaking rules, but bending with grace, compassion, and care.

For most people, their encounters with the Post Office involve long lines or delayed mail. Her many longtime customers can attest that for Serrano, working at the window in a post office was about much more than just selling stamps or mailing packages.

In fact it was a customer who tipped off the Spirit that Serrano was stepping down.

Serrano’s impact can’t be measured by how many packages she processed or how many forms she filled. It’s in the stories, the hugs, the laughter, and the tears.

“One customer took a picture of me and came back with a hand-painted portrait,” she recalls, her voice emotional. “It meant so much because she took the time. That little thing was so special.” Another customer gave her a cup inscribed with her name and the words: “USPS, 39 Years of Service” and her name on it. These moments speak volumes about the connection she built with her community.

“I feel appreciated,” she says. “I’ve had people bring me flowers I could open a flower shop in my house with all the ones I received! And the cards, the gifts all week long it’s overwhelming.”

During the interview some customers came to say goodbye, one gave her a gift, another one wanted to bring a bottle of champagne and said “I hate to see you go, I can’t cry don’t make me cry. I love you and I am gonna miss you.”

A last customer said “ She always bothering me but I like the way she did it”, I am going to miss her.” A truly touching moment showing how important Serrano is to the customers, and how her absence will be felt by all.

In her nearly four decade long career, Serrano said she never wanted to move into a supervisory role. Her purpose wasn’t to manage it was to connect. “I wanted to be with people, not sitting in an office,” she says. And for 39 years, she did just that showing up, showing love, and showing what it means to serve with heart.

Their responsibilities include assisting customers with mailing letters and packages, offering guidance on postage and delivery options, selling products and services like stamps, money orders, and shipping supplies, and ensuring secure transactions by verifying identities and handling sensitive mail items. She also answered customer questions, resolved issues, manage inventory, and stay compliant with postal rules while finding ways to go the extra mile for customers.

Serrano began her postal career 39 years ago. For the first 10 years, she worked behind the scenes, inside the post office. But once she moved to the window, she knew she had found her calling and she never looked back. For 29 years, Angie has been the smiling face behind the counter, always ready to help with a kind word and a deep commitment to her customers. She has spent the past 19 years almost 20 this coming September at the Upper West Side post office, where she became a true part of the neighborhood’s daily rhythm.

As she retires, it’s clear that Angie Serrano is more than just a postal worker. She’s a part of her community’s daily life, a comforting presence, a trusted helper, and a cherished friend. Her legacy lives in the thousands of stories she’s a part of and in the lives she touched, one smile at a time.