As first reported here last Saturday, starting next month, the Westwood Village post office (2571 SW Trenton) will start closing at night next month, as the West Seattle Junction post office has been doing for almost two years. Since the signage at Westwood didn’t cite a specific reason, we followed up with regional U.S. Postal Service spokesperson Ernie Swanson. Here’s what he tells WSB:

Homeless people began sleeping in the lobby of the Westwood Village Station, harassing our customers who came in to check their mail in the evening. The homeless people also left trash behind including syringes and human waste. With regard for the safety of our customers, the decision was made to close the lobby from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. each night. This problem has become more prevalent in the city as we feel the need to close our lobbies during night-time hours.

An online-news search confirms this is happening in other cities – a quick search turned up reports from Medford, OR, to Kokomo, IN.