| I say it every so often. I don't know where I got it from or where it seems like an outgrowth of the standard way of giving directions. The street numbering system is confusing, always on the avenues, but often on the streets as well. Addresses in midtown religiously tell you how far you are east or west of 5th Avenue but by the time you get to Columbus Circle, "west" is measured from Central Park and because Broadway seems to be a diagonal (it is actually the only non-diagonal) it is even murkier. Locals give directions as intersections and if the place is not near the corner add the cardinal direction on the street or (usually) above or below for the avenue. In that context, I think what the OP was seeing is pretty understandable. In the theatre, some people use east of Broadway as a pejorative. |
