Noble stated for several months, she has been unable to receive mail as vehicles have been deliberately parked in front of the mailboxes she installed. Noble said the location of the mailboxes was suggested by the Post Office, but the owner of the vehicle dismantling facility Michael Bellando is preventing her from accessing them.

Noble alleged Bellando is intentionally interfering with mail delivery and receipt because he believes the mailboxes are located on his property. Noble claims the property actually belongs to the village, and asked the village to tow the vehicles on various occasions. Several different vehicles have been parked in front of the mailboxes over the past year, blocking access for the Nickel Plate Depot and the tenants in the upstairs apartments.

Noble had pages worth of documentation of all the different avenues she has taken to get the issue resolved, but nothing has worked. She has been in contact with the Village Board in the past regarding the matter, as well as Village Code Enforcement Officer Wendy Spinuzza and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office.

Noble has also been in regular contact with the Post Office in Brocton, but locally, Brocton’s office has been unwilling to address the matter. She has contacted several representatives from the Post Office above the local branch, but there has yet to be a resolution to the matter.

Pictured are vehicles parked in front of mailboxes in the village of Brocton, supporting claims of mail interference. Submitted photos

“Everybody is passing the buck,” Trustee Drew Ransom said.

Ransom and village attorney Peter Clark each attempted to resolve the matter by reaching out to representatives with the Post Office. Clark has since written a letter to Sen. Charles Schumer because mail interference is a federal offense.

“It sounds like the obvious one to fix this would have been the Post Office, which is not doing it,” Clark said. “… I will keep looking at it and see if I can come up with any ideas.”

Village Board members have also suggested representatives at the county and state levels.

“There has to be some resolution for her and her tenants. She’s a taxpayer; she’s a business owner. This is not fair for them,” Trustee Brandy Smith said.

Pictured are vehicles parked in front of mailboxes in the village of Brocton, supporting claims of mail interference. Submitted photos

While the Village Board is sympathetic to Noble’s efforts, it is unsure of how to proceed. The Village is evaluating its options with towing vehicles, including researching whether the vehicle most recently parked in the way of the mailboxes is registered and insured. The assumption of those discussing the matter at the meeting was that it is not.

Rich Lewis, Supervisor of the Town of Portland and a resident and employee of the Village of Brocton, asked, “So if I had an unregistered, uninsured vehicle parked on the side of the road, for three months, with a flat tire, nothing would be done?”

Ransom responded, “There has to be something that gets done, but this guy is so petty that as soon as you move one vehicle, he’s putting another vehicle up there.”

Noble also highlighted several concerns with Bellando’s operation of the junkyard that fall under the umbrella of code enforcement. The Village is evaluating its options on how to proceed with those concerns, as well.

“It just seems like he’s constantly baiting and antagonizing everybody,” Ransom said later in the meeting. “It’s annoying, especially when all you want to do is help out a nice business.”

The Board and Highway Superintendent Ken Becker also entertained nearly 10 minutes of discussion regarding water and drainage issues at the Nickel Plate Depot, which Noble claimed has been an issue for several years.

The Board meeting proceeded after 50 minutes of discussions with Noble. Mayor Craig Miller said he chose not to limit Noble’s comments to three minutes because he was “sympathetic” to the issues she raised.