The United States Postal Service, as a federal agency, may not be legally bound to answer to local boards or individual residents, but seeing how it has handled the closure of the post office in Union Square and the subsequent delivery issues residents claim have resulted from moving operations out of the historic building does, at the very least, merit some level of explanation.

Figuring out whether a property has been sold, never mind to whom it was sold, should not be shrouded in mystery, and that is even more the case with such a prominent property. What Somerville residents and officials are dealing with in the midnight-move approach on the part of the USPS is not unique to the city. Nationwide, the cash-strapped agency has been selling off properties, in many cases, according to Congress, without always following the proper procedures for doing so.

The USPS, like any business, needs to do what it needs to do to cut costs and improve efficiencies. No one would question that. But aside from the public relations angle, the abandonment – which is what it feels like – of the post office at a time when Union Square is preparing for a significant makeover between the coming of the Green Line and extensive redevelopment plans is inconvenient, inconsiderate and infuriating.

The USPS, it appears, is as inept at delivering answers as it is mail.