The Town of Wheatfield is advocating for its own zip code. Wheatfield Supervisor Don MacSwan said the town wanting its own zip code isn’t a new issue.
“It's a big issue. One, because it took so long and two, Wheatfield has doubled in population,” MacSwan said.
He thinks the town has a real chance thanks to bipartisan legislation. Congressman Tim Kennedy announced on Thursday morning that a bill has passed the House and will head to the Senate, requesting that the Postal Service assign dozens of municipalities, including Wheatfield, their own zip codes.
Wheatfield officials have been advocating for a separate zip code since the 1990s, and have tried working with multiple legislators to get a bill passed.
Wheatfield Councilmember Larry Helwig said the zip code matter has affected mailing, grant opportunities and even death certificates.
“People would pass away, and the death certificate would come in with North Tonawanda, instead of saying Wheatfield,” he said. “Because actually, you're a resident of the town, not a resident of the zip code.”
Kennedy, a Democrat, and Congressman Nick Langworthy, a Republican, are both advocating for Wheatfield to have its own zip code. Kennedy said that currently, four zip codes cover Wheatfield, and overlap with other municipalities that have similar street names, including North Tonawanda, Sanborn, Niagara Falls, and Lockport.
“It causes great confusion, especially when you have shared road names like ‘Ward Road’ or ‘Niagara Falls Boulevard’. There's packages that are going missing or misdelivered,” said Kennedy. “There's confusion at town hall when they're putting together death certificates; you have grieving families that have to deal with the confusion of a postal service snafu.”
For the first time in a long time, Helwig said Wheatfield is hopeful for change.
“I’m a lot more hopeful this week than I ever was. It's not a slam dunk by any means, but there's no reason why it shouldn't go through the Senate," said Helwig.
