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November 10, 2009

NY Neighborhood Naming: Going GaGa for GoCaGa

Can changing a neighborhood's name increase the value of the properties therein?

New York real estate agents seem to think so.

The New York Daily News reports that acronym type names are popping up all over Manhattan real estate offices, and boy are they weird.

If you'd live in SoHo, why not try BoCoCa, GoCaGa or BoHo? Mapmakers even have put down DUMBO as a real part of the city (near the Manhattan Bridge).

There already has been NoHo, which is north of Hudson Street, and Nolita, which is Little Italy, but the Bowery below Hudson Street is now BoHo and BoCoCa is "an amalgamation of three old-school Brooklyn neighborhoods - Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill."

Hell's Kitchen is trying to turn into "Clinton," leading one blogger to note that "as it abuts Chelsea, you could very well find yourself living in Chelsea-Clinton." Nearby, there also appears to be a strong push for the creation of a Greenwich South.

The Gothamist weighs in on all this, writing:

BoCoCa would be better if it could be pronounced "BoCoCoa," because right now we're tripping on it, saying, "BoCaCa." Plus there's nothing wrong with just saying Cobble Hill or whatever. Then CoWaDi sounds like "Witch Doctor http://www.mareesalbumlyrics.com/Witch_Doctor.html " from Sha-Na-Na..."Ooh-ee-ooh-ah-ah, ting-tang-walla-walla-bing-bang." It would be better off if the area was called "The W.D." - think "The O.C " - or just "The District" - don't think the CBS show.

Despite the strange factor, people just don't seem to like many or most of these new names. In fact, Cityfile points out "None of them have caught on yet and probably never will so if you use them in conversation, you'll probably come off sounding pretty stupid (and may get mistaken for a desperate real estate broker). But feel free to take your chances."

Technorati Tags: Neighborhood Naming, NY Neighborhoods, NY Naming, Neighborhood Names, NY Real Estate

Posted by William Lozito at November 10, 2009 9:08 AM
Posted to Naming

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