# Long Island in U.S. postal addresses **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 25, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341 "2010-02-25T01:47:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341/21 "2010-02-25T18:05:30Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Yes, the question was “why in New York” which is why I answered “you only see it in Queens and it means this” – the “in New York” being understood from the question. > > I am not trying to say what a hyphenated address would mean in a place other than New York. I’m just sharing additional information. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341/22 "2010-02-25T18:40:51Z")
I’ve seen the “L.I” thing and the “Brooklyn” thing a long time ago. Don’t know why. People tend not to do it anymore. Don’t know why. MAYBE the need went away when zip codes were introduced. They came in in the 1960’s. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341/23 "2010-02-25T18:43:10Z")
Brooklyn is still used for Brooklyn addresses. But I haven’t seen LI. It’s doubly redundant, if you have the municipality name and the Zip code, which is already redundant. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341/24 "2010-02-25T19:16:38Z")
You know, the official city designation issue isn’t confined to Queens, of course. I don’t live in Rockville, but my mailing address is in Rockville. And when I used to live in the part of unincorporated Fairfax County that is just north of Springfield and somewhat west of Alexandria which doesn’t have a name of its own, my mail was typically addressed to Alexandria, even though Alexandria was quite far away – Annandale, Springfield, and Arlington were closer. (Although I found out later, the official city designation for the area was Lincolnia, which is a place that exists only in the records of the U.S. Post Office.) –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341/25 "2010-02-25T20:03:59Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#): > > Los Angeles may be a special case (like that’s a surprise). I don’t know if there are any other major cities like this, but the zip codes around downtown L.A. all start with ‘900’. For example, ‘90027’ is Hollywood - which is really just a neighborhood / district of L.A., not its own city. A famous neighborhood, to be sure, but even so. Hollywood’s a bit more than a neighborhood, and has more than one zip code. For instance the Roosevelt Hotel is 90028. It is true that most or all zip codes in the Basin, and within the proper city limits, do have 900 for the first three numbers. Over the hill in the San Fernando Valley, though, the 900’s stop, even for areas that are within the city limits. Chatsworth, for instance, is 91311. When addressing mail to well known districts or former independent cities like Watts or Hollywood, you can usually use those names if you prefer. On the other hand, if you are addressing something to L.A.'s Brentwood you had better be sure to include the zip code, because there’s an actual town Brentwood in the Bay Area. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341/26 "2010-02-25T20:19:43Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Zip codes began to be implemented in 1943 for some larger cities, and by 1963 were in use nationwide. No, _zones_ were implemented in 1943. Zip codes were implemented in the 60s. Zones were usually one or two digits; zip codes started out with five. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341/27 "2010-02-25T20:22:06Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > It’s really only in Queens you see this, and the hyphen is significant. The first part of the numerical address signifies a nearby numbered cross street, the second part the number in relation to that cross street. > > The address you selected, is somewhere near the intersection of 143rd st/ave/rd and 41st Ave. > > I have no idea where or how this system of numbering arose, but it is not generally used in Brooklyn. > [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Hm. Up here, an address of that form – say 13-4201 rue Sainte-Whoever – would mean 4201 Sainte-Whoever, apartment 13. So then, how would an apartment be addressed in Queens? If, say, #10 41st Ave. was an apartment block, and you were in suite 13, would it be 13-143-10 41st, or would it be the more clear 143-10 41st Ave. Apt. 13? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341/28 "2010-02-25T20:34:45Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > You know, the official city designation issue isn’t confined to Queens, of course. I don’t live in Rockville, but my mailing address is in Rockville. And when I used to live in the part of unincorporated Fairfax County that is just north of Springfield and somewhat west of Alexandria which doesn’t have a name of its own, my mail was typically addressed to Alexandria, even though Alexandria was quite far away – Annandale, Springfield, and Arlington were closer. (Although I found out later, the official city designation for the area was Lincolnia, which is a place that exists only in the records of the U.S. Post Office.) > > –Cliffy I’m not sure how the post office divvies up town affiliations, but there were certain houses outside of Princeton proper (the township) which still had Princeton addresses. These were prized. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341/29 "2010-02-25T20:47:59Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > 143-10 41st Ave. Apt. 13? This ^ is how my address in Queens is formatted. alternately, 143-10 41st Ave, #13 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341/30 "2010-03-03T21:09:16Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#): > > Los Angeles may be a special case (like that’s a surprise). I don’t know if there are any other major cities like this, but the zip codes around downtown L.A. all start with ‘900’. For example, ‘90027’ is Hollywood - which is really just a neighborhood / district of L.A., not its own city. A famous neighborhood, to be sure, but even so. I thought this sort of thing was fairly common. Don’t all Manhattan zip codes start with ‘100’? As I was saying, it isn’t just “around downtown”, but just about every neighborhood or district, in the city limits, and not in the SFV. Over the hill in the Valley you start to get zip codes that are in L.A. proper, but don’t start with ‘900’. Mail to these places is usually addressed to the name of the district, e.g. Sherman Oaks or Chatsworth. Due to peculiarities of geography, there’s also [BHPO](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Post_Office); houses in this area are served by the Beverly Hills post office, and addressed Beverly Hills, CA 90210, but are actually part of L.A. Within the past couple of days I learned that some of the ‘900’ zip codes overlap into neighboring independent cities. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341/31 "2010-03-04T15:09:00Z")
The first digit tells you what region of the country you are in. “9xxxx” indicates the west coast. The second digit narrows it down to a particular portion of one state. “90xxx” indicates southern California. The third digit indicates a “regional processing center”. “900xx” indicates the area surrounding Los Angeles. In a low-population area, this might cover several counties. In a high-population area, such as Los Angeles, it might be just the big city and a few suburbs. The last two digits narrow it down to a single small town, or a portion of a large city. In my state, if a town has two or more zip codes, street addresses will get an odd-numbered zip code, and post office boxes will get an even-numbered zip code. There are always exceptions. I think there is a military base in western Arizona that has a zip code starting with 9. Historically, it was much closer to the California processing center, than to any of the Arizona processing centers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-island-in-u-s-postal-addresses/530341.md?page=1)