The age-herald., 1898-01-07
GREATER NEW YORK.
As Yet There Are no Changes in the Matte
 of Directing Letters.

From the New York Journal
 There was a marked increase yesterday in the number of letters received in the New York postofflce that were incorrectly addressed. The new boroughs prove a source of hopeless confusion to many let ter writers.
 The postoffice authorities strongly re- quest that until new regulations shall be adopted the borough divisions be altogether ignored. The United States postoffice de- partment has not yet recognized the New York consolidation. and throughout the territory of the new city there are just as many independent postoffices as before Addresses should be written precisely as they were before the consolidation" said Richard Van Cott, acting general su- perintendent of city delivery, yesterday. If a letter is addressed with street and number New York City, we take it for granted that the old New York is meant To add Borough of Manhattan Is right enough, of course, but quite unnecessary. But it often causes a little delay by mo- mentarily puzzling the handling clerks They see Borough of Manhattan and it makes them stop to think about it, where- as without that they would keep right with their swift handling But outside of Manhattan the adding of the borough title is positively misleading"
 Thousands of misdirected envelopes were yesterday received. Most of them were in- tended for Brooklyn, but were addressed New York City, only. The postal clerks sent most of these to the correct destina- tion through knowing that the streets named were in Brooklyn.
 Many letters addressed to the Borough of Queens, without giving the name of the postoffice, whether Flushing, Long Island, Astoria or which one of the numerous towns, were sent to the Long Island City postoffice to be strengthened out, and many "Richmond Borough" letters, without the name of the town being given, were sent to St. George. But in spite of the rapid forwarding of all these lots, over five hun- dred hard" letters, as they are technically called, had been sent by 3 o'clock in the af- ternoon to the special inquiry department, where much labor and study and compari- son of street lists of the many towns that compose Greater New York were neces- sary.
 Superintendent of Mails Maze said: "One of the chief troubles is caused by the du- plication of street names in the several boroughs. Broadway is to be found in New York, Brooklyn, Long Island City and Staten Island. Madison avenue is in New York, Brooklyn and Flushing. Grove and Union streets are among the many others that in different boroughH. Here Is letter addressed to No 143 Madison ave- nue, Flushing, N. Y.' That is right as it is, but the writer has also added, need lessly, Borough of Queens But here are letters addressed to No. 1s9 Montague street. City; NO. lSO RemSen street, New York and No. 29S Greene avenue, city, without any further guide. We happen to know, however, that Brooklyn is meant. A. letter from one of our largest banks came in this morning for No 7S Hicks street, city, Others have come in for Browne avenue and Academy street. and we have had to presume that Flushing was meant in the one case and Astoria in the other"
 A letter came in during the day ad- dressed:
 His Honor, Mayor Wurster
 City. Another queer one was addressed: MT. Fred Adams,
 fl, Sumner avenue, New York City (Borough.) It was sent to Brooklyn.
 "Let the people for the present forget all about the boroughs," said MT. Maze. Let them address letters exactly as they have done in the past"