Queens street numbers, house numbers
Signs Indicate Queens, NY Street Numbers and House Numbers.
In order that a house number may be of greatest value in indicating
the location of its premises, the number is divided into two parts,
separated by a dash, in which the first part of the number is the
same as that of the nearest cross street or avenue, intersecting
the avenue or street to the west or north, and the second part of
the number represents the distance, as expressed in lot intervals,
between such corner and the house, a number being assigned
for each 20-foot space.
Odd numbers are assigned to buildings on the north sides of
avenues and the east sides of streets, while even numbers
are used for houses on the south sides of avenues and the
west sides of streets; in which the term “street” is used to
designate all thoroughfares running north and south, and
“avenue” is employed for thoroughfares running east to
west or at right angles to the streets.
For instance, if a house is on 30th Avenue, between 25th
and 26th Streets, the first part of the number would be 25.
If the house is on the north side of 30th Avenue, and is at
the corner of 25th Street, the second part of the number
would be 02. That is to say, the first mentioned house
would be called 25-01 30th Avenue, indicating that it
was on 30th Avenue and occupied the lot space adjacent
to 25th Street, in the block between 25th and 26th Streets,
and was on the north side of the avenue.
As another illustration, take the number 125-42 221st Street.
Such a house would be situated on 221st Street, in the block
between 125th and 126th Avenues, because the first part
of the number is 125. It would be on the west side of
221st Street, because 42 is an even number.
Dividing 42 by 2, because half of the lots would be on
the west side and half would be on the east side of the
street, gives 21, the number of lots between the house
and 125th Avenue. As a space of 20 feet is allowed for
each lot, the distance of the house from 125th Avenue
would be 21 x 20, or 420 feet.
That is to say, the number 125-42 221st Street, would be
a complete description of the location of a house, and
could apply to only one position in the entire borough.
Since the number assigned to a house is based entirely
on its location, it follows that when houses occupy plots
wider than 20 feet it is necessary to skip over one or
more numbers.
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