Rep. Michael Grimm has taken the common practice of  the periodic "Congress On Your Corner" meet-and-greets with constituents outside supermarkets, schools and other heavily trafficked areas to a whole new level!

Grimm donned a United Parcel Service uniform at the UPS headquarters in Travis and went on rounds delivering packages. After suiting up in the brown UPS uniform, Grimm helped drop off packages at the offices of a dentist and doctor and at a pre-school today, leaving some doing a double-take.

"Some people were kind of shocked to see me," said Grimm (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn). "But I really got a lot out of it. UPS is one of the largest employers on Staten Island. When I asked them what they would need to do to hire more workers, they said the average company sends 43 packages a day. If another company opened, they could make another hire."

This wasn't the Congressman's first "out-of office" experience.  He also put on FDNY gear and was briefed by firefighters at Engine 160/Rescue 5 in Concord., and earlier in the year, the freshman Congressman was principal for a day at Eden II School in Elm Park.

Grimm said he enjoyed wearing the hats of different workers so much that he'll be looking to make more hands-on visits to learn the "everyday, common sense, average point of view" realities of his constituents.

In some ways, trying on different hats is similar to Grimm's own personal narrative: Before he ran for Congress last year, he served in combat as a U.S. Marine, was an undercover FBI agent, graduated law school and became an attorney and owned a small business.

Of his latest experiences, Grimm called it a "great opportunity to meet constituents and say, 'I'm here; I work for you.' It's also my way of working on the ground to see how jobs are created."

"Some people were kind of shocked to see me," said Grimm (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn). "But I really got a lot out of it. UPS is one of the largest employers on Staten Island. When I asked them what they would need to do to hire more workers, they said the average company sends 43 packages a day. If another company opened, they could make another hire." 

"That really resonated with me," added Grimm. "You can hear all the rhetoric, but when two or three small businesses go under, there is a loss of jobs there."

When it came to the visit at the firehouse, Grimm said he gained great insights and was awed by the "expansive knowledge and versatility" of firefighters.

He called the constituent outreach "a perk of the job."