§ 45.5 Out-of-bounds patrons. Patrons located outside city-delivery limits may be given delivery service if they erect boxes on the carrier's regular line of travel. Special delivery, parcel post, insured, certified, COD, and registered mail will be delivered to the residences of out-of-bounds patrons, if the residences are not more than three blocks from the carrier's line of travel, and provided passable walks have been constructed or the street is not impassable; otherwise, a notice will be left in the box requesting that the patron call for the mail. If an ordinary parcel is involved and it can be placed in the box, delivery will be made in that manner. [27 F.R. 6978, July 24, 1962] § 45.6 Apartment house receptacles. (a) Conditions requiring installation of receptacles. (1) The delivery of mail in apartment houses, family hotels, residential flats, and business flats in residential areas, containing three or more apartments having a common street entrance or common street number, shall be contingent on the installation and maintenance of U.S. Post Office approved mail receptacles, one for each apartment, including resident manager and janitor, unless the management has arranged for the mail to be delivered at the office or desk for distribution by its employees. The cost of receptacles and their instal lation is paid for by the owner of the building. (2) Owners and managers of apartment houses, family hotels, and flats, equipped with old-type apartment house mail receptacles are urged to install upto-date and approved receptacles to assure more adequate protection to the mail of occupants. When these buildings are remodeled to provide additional apartments or when a material change in the location of boxes is made, they shall be equipped with approved receptacles, with full-length doors on verticaltype installations, and a capacity as specified in paragraph (b)(2) of this section. (3) When new apartments are being erected or existing ones are remodeled, postmasters will inform builders and owners of the requirements of this section and will provide for a suitable inspection to see that receptacles of safe and durable construction are installed in conformity with this section. (b) Specifications for construction of receptacles-(1) Materials. The receptacles shall be manufactured of material of such strength and thickness as to provide reasonable safety to the mail deposited. (2) Capacity. Both horizontal- and vertical-type receptacles must be of sufficient capacity to receive long-letter mail 41⁄2 inches in width and certain large and bulky magazines, unrolled as well as rolled, and must be so constructed and of such height or length and capacity that magazines 141⁄2 inches in length and 31⁄2 inches in diameter, if rolled, may be deposited and removed with facility. (3) Individual doors and locks. (1) Each individual receptacle must be equipped with a full-length door through which the mail may be removed by the tenant. The doors of the several receptacles shall be secured by key locks or combination keyless locks. If key locks are installed, manufacturers must provide a sufficient number of key changes to prevent the opening of receptacles by the use of a key to any other receptacle in the same house or in the immediate locality. These locks must be securely fastened to the door. Each lock should be clearly numbered on the back so that if a key is lost, a duplicate may be ordered by number. The lock number should also be clearly shown on the inside of the master door directly above the individual box to which it is attached. (ii) Apartment house managers must maintain a record of the number of keys supplied by manufacturers and jobbers, relating the key number to the receptacle number, so that, when necessary, new keys may be ordered. Key numbers shall not be placed on the barrels of the locks, as this would make it possible for unauthorized persons to get keys and gain access to the boxes. Apartment house managers must keep a record of the combinations of keyless locks so that new tenants may be given the combination. These records of key numbers and combinations must be kept in the custody of the manager or a trusted employee. The record of key numbers must be kept until the lock has been changed, when it may be destroyed. The record of combinations to the keyless locks must be kept until the combination is changed, when it may be destroyed. (iii) The dimensions of the clear opening of the door frame of each horizontal-type receptacle must be identical to the cross-sectional measurements of the receptacle itself. Arrow lock furnished by the local postmaster for use so long as mail is delivered by letter carriers and the key shall be in the custody of postal employees. Master doors for horizontal-type receptacles shall be hinged on the side only and shall be no wider than 30 inches. (ii) The master lock will be attached to the group of receptacles by the postmaster's representative who will see that it is securely attached. The plate to which the master lock will be fastened should be riveted to the face of the box. A metal plate is not required between the Arrow lock and door of a horizontal-type installation with wood master doors. (5) Slot. In the face of each receptacle there must be provided a slot 2 inches in length and one-eighth inch wide for the deposit of carrier and special-delivery notices. (6) Backs of front-loading receptacles. These units must have solid backs. (7) Numbers and name cards. (i) Vertical-type receptacles must be satisfactorily numbered or lettered in numerical or alphabetical sequence from left to right; horizontal-type receptacles must be numbered or lettered in sequence from top to bottom, so as to enable the carrier to expeditiously deliver the mail. (ii) Each receptacle must be equipped with a clasp or holder to accommodate a name card for identifying the patron or patrons using that box. Preferably, this holder or clasp should be on the frame above each receptacle, but it may be located inside at the rear of the box where the patron's name will be easily visible to the carrier when the master door is open. The holder must be large enough to take a name card at least 34 x 22 inches in vertical-type installations; and in horizontal-type installations, as large as space permits. In the latter case pressure sensitive labels may be used. (c) Installation-(1) Location and arrangement. (i) Receptacles in apartment houses should be located at points reasonably near the entrance in vestibules, halls, or lobbies. The carriers must be able to serve the boxes without interference from swinging or opening doors. The area must be adequately lighted so as to afford the best protection to the mail and enable carriers to read addresses on mail and names on boxes without undue strain on their eyes. (ii) In mild climate zones the installation of standard, approved apartment receptacles in exterior walls of buildings may be authorized provided they are not installed directly on the street or public sidewalk. Wherever possible, at least 15 feet should be kept between the boxes and the street or sidewalk, and the location should be clearly visible from one or more apartment windows. A canopy must be provided, designed and located to afford maximum protection from the weather, including driving rains. In addition, adequate night lighting must be installed. (iii) In vertical-type installations: (a) Receptacles must be placed so that the center of the barrel of the master lock of the upper tier will be no more than 56 inches from the floor. The center of the barrel of the master lock of the lower tier will be no less than 30 inches from the floor. (b) No more than two tiers may be installed. They should be arranged so as to permit the installation of the largest number of boxes with the smallest number of master locks. The minimum number of boxes to which one master lock may be attached is three. (c) Boxes must be arranged in groups, as many in each group as is consistent with safety, but normally never less than eight. Where the number of apartments is less than eight or where telephone units are installed with the receptacles, a lesser number may be grouped. (iv) In horizontal-type installations, the distance from the finished floor to the tenant locks on the top tier of boxes should be no more than 66 inches; and to the bottom of the lowest tier of boxes no less than 30 inches. (2) Access to rear loading of horizontal-type receptacles. Access to rear loading installations shall be provided by a door fitted with an inside Arrow lock opening into a room having at least 3 feet of unobstructed work space from the rear of the units to the wall. The room must be adequately ventilated and lighted. The rear of the unit must have a screen or cover of plywood or other suitable material to prevent the removal of mail from adjacent boxes and to prevent mail from falling out the back. This cover must be securely fastened and easily opened by the carrier. (3) Installation with telephone units. (i) When necessary or desirable to install mail receptacles in conjunction with a standard size telephone unit, verticaltype receptacles may be placed in 2 tiers, or they may be installed in groups or batteries of less than 8 if required for the proper arrangement of the groups in the 2 tiers. This does not apply where the telephone unit is installed independently of mail receptacles. Although there is no objection to combining these two services, the mail receptacles must be separated from the telephone or electrical unit. Electric pushbuttons may be placed in the frame of the installation, connecting with wires outside the mail receptables, provided the pushbuttons can be removed from the outside and the wire connection with such pushbuttons can be repaired without removing the receptacles. (ii) Telephone units combined with mail receptacle units must be constructed so that access to the telephone unit is not dependent on entering the mail receptacle, and the latter must not be accessible when the telephone unit is opened. (d) Directories. (1) In all apartment houses having 15 or more receptacles, a complete directory of all persons receiving mail must be maintained. When an apartment house is divided into units with separate entrances and 15 or more receptacles are installed to the unit, a separate directory must be provided for each unit. In addition, if mail is not generally addressed to specific units, a directory must be kept at the main unit of the building, listing all persons receiving mail in the various units. (2) Directories must be alphabetical by surname and must be maintained and kept corrected to date. The receptacle number and apartment number should always be the same, and the apartment number should appear on the right of the name on the directory. If, for any cause, the apartment number is different from the number of the receptacle, the receptacle number should appear on the left of the name in the directory. same arrangement shall be followed where the apartments and receptacles are either lettered or lettered and numbered. The (3) The directory must be of legible type, in a suitable frame for protection purpose, and attached to the wall immediately above or to the side of the mail receptacles where it can be easily read. Where mailrooms are used, the directory should be removable for the convenience of the carrier. If an attendant, such as telephone operator, doorman, or elevator conductor, is on duty between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. and mail is delivered either to apartment house receptacles or in bulk for distribution by employees of the building, the directory may be kept in the custody of the employee on duty in the building so that it may be available to the carrier or special delivery messenger on request. (e) Maintenance and repair. (1) The owners or managers of buildings must keep receptacles in good repair. When an inside letterbox Arrow lock is no longer needed, the building management must immediately notify the postmaster so that a postal employee can be detailed to supervise removal of the lock from the master door for return to the post office. Owners and managers of buildings must return to the postmaster any inside letter-box arrow locks that become defective or that are no longer needed. (2) Carriers will report on Form 3521, "Carrier's Report on House Numbers and Mail Receptacles”, all apartment houses that are being remodeled and all mail boxes that are not locked or are out of repair. Delivering employees and postmasters will see that all inside letter-box arrow locks are recovered when buildings are torn down or remodeled. (3) Upon receipt of a report of lack of repair or irregularity in the operation of apartment house mail receptacles, postmasters will have prompt investigation made and direct what repairs must be made by and at the expense of the owners or managers. So that there will be no question as to the disposition or treatment of mail, repairs must be made only when a representative of the post office is present. It is unlawful for other than postal employees to open receptacles and expose mail. (4) Failure to keep boxes locked or in proper repair as directed by postmasters is sufficient justification for withholding delivery of mail therein and requiring the occupants of the apartments to call for their mail at the post office or carrier delivery unit serving the area if this action is believed advisable for safety reasons. When such action is contemplated, a reasonable notice of approximately 30 days will be given in writing to the patrons and the owner or manager of the apartment building. (5) When mail, deposited by a carrier in an apartment house mail receptacle, is reported lost or stolen or when there is indication that the mail has been wilfully or maliciously damaged, defaced, or destroyed, the postmaster shall immediately report the circumstances to the local postal inspector or the postal inspector in charge. (6) The United States Penal Code prescribes for the wrongful possession of mail locks and the wilful or malicious injury or destruction of letter boxes and the theft of mail therefrom. Manufacturers are authorized to place on each installation of apartment houses mail receptacles the words "U.S. Mail" and a warning notice of these provisions of law. Manufacturers are also authorized to place inconspicuously on each installation their name and words “Approved by the Postmaster General", when the designs have been approved by the Post Office Department. (f) Manufacturers and distributors. Following is a list of manufacturers and distributors of one or more designs of apartment house mail receptacles approved by the Post Office Department, with trade names of boxes: (1) Vertical type. Accessories Manufacturers, Ltd., 595 St. Remi Auth Electric Co., Inc., 34-20 45th Street, Cutler Mail Chute Co., 76 Anderson Avenue, Dura Steel Products Co., Post Office Box 54175, Los Angeles, Calif., 90054. Florence Mfg. Co., Inc., 848-864 North Larrabee Street, Chicago, Ill., 60610. Jensen Industries, 1946 East 46th Street, Los Angeles, Calif., 90058. Leigh Products, Inc., Coopersville, Mich., 49404. Perma-Bilt Steel Products Co., 8324 Graham Avenue, Los Angeles, Calif., 90001. S. H. Couch Co., Inc., 3 Arlington Street, Boston, Mass., 02171. (2) Horizontal type. American Device Mfg. Co., Steeleville, Ill., 62288. Auth Electric Co., Inc., 34-20 45th Street, Florence Manufacturing Co., Inc., 848-864 North Larrabee Street, Chicago, Ill., 60610. [26 F.R. 11579, Dec. 6, 1961, as amended at 27 F.R. 6498, July 10, 1962, 27 F.R. 6978, July 24, 1962, 30 F.R. 2314, Feb. 20, 1965, 30 F.R. 7393, June 4, 1965, 30 F.R. 11031, Aug. 26, 1965, 30 F.R. 14374, Nov. 17, 1965] PART 46-RURAL SERVICE Sec. |