08648 ZIP OK’d for Lawrence Township

Township officials’ battle to convince the U.S. Postal Service to designate 08648 exclusively as "Lawrence Township" appears to have been won

By: Lea Kahn
   Township officials’ battle to convince the U.S. Postal Service to designate the ZIP code of 08648 exclusively as "Lawrence Township" appears to have been won.
   The designation may take effect as early as next month, Township Council learned Tuesday night.
   Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun told Township Council the Postal Service has "initially approved" the request, submitted by the council last month. A township resident with a Trenton mailing address approached the council in June to seek the ZIP code designation change.
   According to an Aug. 14 letter to Municipal Clerk Kathy Norcia from Jake Truex of the U.S. Postal Service, the manager of the address management unit has initially approved the request and submitted the changes for final approval. A letter confirming final approval will be sent to township officials.
   "We recognize that community identity is important to many of our customers, so we have developed a ZIP Code Boundary Review Process," Mr. Truex wrote. "This provides for a formal review to determine if the Postal Service can grant a community’s mailing identity request. The ZIP Code Boundary Committee for Central New Jersey District recently completed a review of your resolution and request that the ZIP Code 08648 be identified as Lawrence Township."
   Mr. Truex wrote that the Address Management unit has initially approved the request and submitted the changes for final approval. The ZIP Code Boundary Committee expects the changes to receive final approval and implementation by September, he wrote.
   The change means the preferred last line for ZIP Code 08648 will be Lawrence Township, N.J., he wrote. Mail addressed to Trenton, N.J., 08648 will continue to be delivered to those who are not using Lawrence Township in their addressing or database, he wrote.
   Lawrence Township residents receive mail addressed to them at Trenton, Lawrenceville or Princeton, depending on where they live. Trenton and Lawrenceville mailing addresses are reserved for the southern and central portions of the township, while the northern part uses a Princeton mailing address.
   Mr. Krawczun said Tuesday that when Lawrence residents dial for an airline reservation and enter their ZIP code, many times the town is listed as Trenton. He pointed out that automobile insurance rates are affected by the town where the car is kept, so Lawrence Township is preferable to Trenton.
   Mayor Gregory Puliti said he was pleased with the news. There are many good implications that will arise from changing the mailing address from Trenton to Lawrence, he said. It will take time, however, for databases to be updated to reflect the new mailing address, he added.
   This is not the first time Lawrence Township officials have lobbied for a change in the mailing address and for Lawrence to have its own identity.
   In 1969, township officials fought for a unified mailing address for Lawrence Township. Then-U.S. Rep. Frank Thompson tried unsuccessfully to convince U.S. Postal Service authorities to grant a Lawrence name tag for the entire township, according to a file on the matter at the Municipal Clerk’s Office.
   Four years later, in 1973, voters approved a nonbinding referendum to petition the U.S. Postal Service to adopt a single municipal post office address known as Lawrenceville for the entire township. The effort failed, and so township residents still receive mail addressed to them as Trenton, Lawrenceville or Princeton.