NEW YORK, NY May 20, 2009 —The owner of a Queens envelope factory has announced the facility will close this summer, and 230 workers will lose their jobs. WNYC's Ilya Marritz has details.

REPORTER: For almost 45 years, the factory on Hunters Point Avenue has been making envelopes. John Grymes, Chief Operating Officer at the National Envelope Corporation says this is the end of a tight-knit community.

GRYMES: It could be second-generation, third-generation people that are working there. Even though you're in a metropolis so to speak within the five boroughs of New York City, people were viewed almost like family members.

REPORTER: After the factory closes, the building will be converted to a distribution center. But only about 15 jobs will be created. The National Envelope Corporation produces 180 million envelopes a day and claims to be the world's largest envelope maker. But the company says it's been forced to downsize as the volume of mail passing through the postal system has declined steeply. For WNYC, I'm Ilya Marritz.