The most unusual house number in all of New York City is on West Fourth Street

Fractional house numbers can be found across New York’s older brownstone and townhouse neighborhoods. Usually the half refers to an adjacent carriage house or backhouse, or sometimes even a basement apartment. But as far as I can tell, this is the only 3/4 fractional on a Gotham doorway or entryway. It’s at 184 3/4 West Fourth Street—an appropriately old Manhattan street that depending on the block was originally known as Chester Street, William Street, and then Asylum Street. In the 1830s, this crooked, then-residential thoroughfare finally got its current name. So what’s behind that heavy black door with the 184 3/4 painted above it? A closer look shows it’s something of an alley lined with garbage receptacles rather than an actual attached living space. But who knows, New Yorkers are known to squeeze into some pretty small places and make them their homes. This one does have a roof. Maybe someone does live in or behind this space, and their mail is delivered to 184 3/4 West Fourth…