I've never understood these street name complaints on Hacker News either. It's always kept the street names in the frame for me. If I zoom in a lot, it even starts repeating the street name over and over[1], getting denser and denser as I zoom in more.
I'm not sure why or when. But I often find no matter how far I zoom into a street, it refuses to show me any street name. This is even if it's literally the only street visible on my screen.
I had this happen roughly two weeks ago on my iPad with multiple people around me all scratching their heads. I look at the same location today and I see the street name....
It happens when there are other points or an overlay. I think the buffer they put around text boxes suppresses the street.
In notice this on my street, as there’s a business, park and firehouse. Most of the time the street name is blocked. Also see it a lot in places like Queens with irregular streets with lots of points.
[1] Example screenshot in Firefox today: https://i.imgur.com/BDa4Dr2.png