8th Street (Manhattan) in the context of "45th Street (Manhattan)"

The borough of Manhattan in New York City contains 214 numbered east–west streets ranging from 1st to 228th, the majority of them designated in the Commissioners' Plan of 1811. These streets do not run exactly east–west, because the grid plan is aligned with the Hudson River, rather than with the cardinal directions. Thus, the majority of the Manhattan grid's "west" is approximately 29 degrees north of true west; the angle differs above 155th Street, where the grid initially ended. The grid now covers the length of the island from 14th Street north.

All numbered streets carry an East or West prefix – for example, East 10th Street or West 10th Street – which is demarcated at Broadway below 8th Street, and at Fifth Avenue at 8th Street and above. The numbered streets carry crosstown traffic. In general, but with numerous exceptions, even-numbered streets are one-way eastbound and odd-numbered streets are one-way westbound. Most wider streets, and a few of the narrow ones, carry two-way traffic.