Reason for the hyphen in Queens, NY house numbers

[Streetman]

In some discussion of Queens house numbering in an old topic (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=6396) nobody seemed to know the reason for using hyphens, why for example 73-14 rather than 7314. There is a good reason. Queens streets, unlike the numbered ones in Manhattan, were not laid out in a regular grid. They evolved from the streets in dozens of villages laid out in different alignments. This meant that there could be well over 1000 feet between consecutively numbered Streets or Avenues. Attached row houses could be as little as 20 feet wide each, meaning more than 50 odd or even numbers would be needed on each side. For example, 79 St. between Calamus and Grand avenues has 54 houses on its west side. After 52-98 comes 52-100, 52-102... 52-108. There is at least one other example of this in the borough which I can't locate now. (I remember that 79 St. block because it's not too far from where I was born.)

Hyphens are sometimes omitted, perhaps because some databases don't allow punctuation in house numbers. If that last 79 St. house were recorded as 52108 it couldn't really be 521-08 because there is no 521 Av. (highest street number of any kind is 271 St.)

The possibility of consecutive Avenues beig far apart is why there is for example 52 Rd., 52 Ct., and 52 Dr. between 52 Av. and 53 Av.

[pderocco]

When I've shipped stuff to those addresses, USPS leaves out the hyphen.

[Poiponen13]

In some discussion of Queens house numbering in an old topic (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=6396) nobody seemed to know the reason for using hyphens, why for example 73-14 rather than 7314. There is a good reason. Queens streets, unlike the numbered ones in Manhattan, were not laid out in a regular grid. They evolved from the streets in dozens of villages laid out in different alignments. This meant that there could be well over 1000 feet between consecutively numbered Streets or Avenues. Attached row houses could be as little as 20 feet wide each, meaning more than 50 odd or even numbers would be needed on each side. For example, 79 St. between Calamus and Grand avenues has 54 houses on its west side. After 52-98 comes 52-100, 52-102... 52-108. There is at least one other example of this in the borough which I can't locate now. (I remember that 79 St. block because it's not too far from where I was born.)

Hyphens are sometimes omitted, perhaps because some databases don't allow punctuation in house numbers. If that last 79 St. house were recorded as 52108 it couldn't really be 521-08 because there is no 521 Av. (highest street number of any kind is 271 St.)

The possibility of consecutive Avenues beig far apart is why there is for example 52 Rd., 52 Ct., and 52 Dr. between 52 Av. and 53 Av.

If 52-98 is equivalent of 52098, which is then equivalent of 5298?