“The lackadaisical policy regarding building addresses in this borough raises questions about public safety and quality of life,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer.  “Right now, finding a street address on even our busiest roads can be aggravating, and even worse, can waste valuable time in the event of an emergency. We need to get serious about creating a system for enforcement that will end decades of confusion.”

In all, the survey looked at 1,837 locations. It found that 729 or 39.7 percent of those locations were unmarked.  

According to the City’s Administrative Code, building owners are required to display their house numbers so that they are visible from the sidewalk in front of the building at all times. Each Borough President has the authority to establish and enforce rules relating to the size and placement of house numbers. 

In an effort to spur compliance and modernize the Administrative Code, Borough President Stringer is proposing the following recommendations:

The City Council should pass legislation mandating that all doors for residences or businesses in a building be labeled with an address number. Currently, only the main address (the entrance deemed the main point of entry) of a building must be labeled. This can be confusing if the main address is on an avenue, but there are doors on street side of a building. 

In the study conducted by the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, 13 street segments of approximately 1,000 yards in length were identified. The 13 street corridors cover all parts of the borough, from 181st Street at the north to Cedar Street at the south. Seven of the segments are streets that run East-West, while six are segments that run North-South. Using the 2006 Sanborn Map of the Borough of Manhattan, MBPO researchers recorded whether buildings on their assigned street segments displayed an address. Businesses, residences and other locations observed by researchers that did not appear on the Sanborn maps were recorded as well. 

“The lack of visible street addresses poses both a nuisance and a potential real public safety hazard,” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler.  “I commend Borough President Stringer on his work on this survey and join him in his call for a update and modernization of the City’s Administrative Code.”

“When a building doesn't have a legible street number, it not only means inconvenience,” said Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried. “If ambulance crews, firefighters, or police can't quickly find the right building, lives can be lost.”

The breakdown of street segments is as follows: