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Fake or real — you decide

By Gary Buiso
The Brooklyn Paper

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Ditmas Park: This area in western Flatbush that got its name from the suburban housing development of Victorian homes built there in the early part of the last century.

Our verdict: Real!

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CoWaDi: a real estate agent in the middle part of the last decade hatches this disastrous acronym for the Columbia Waterfront District — itself known at one time as South Brooklyn.

Our verdict: Fake!

Brooklyn Heights: Part of the original Dutch town of Brooklyn, “Heights” was tacked on in the early 19th century as a marketing tool. Land at a higher elevation is considered more valuable, which might explain the proliferation of “Heights” and “Hills” in the borough.

Our verdict: Real!

Midbush: The area between Flatbush and Midwood comes from the Dutch “Mydbushe,” a low growing weed smoked for its restorative and hallucinogenic properties, said to “recalibrate the humours,” according to reports from that era.

Our verdict: Fake!

BoCoCa: In 2004, a Web designer named Christopher Bransetter is asked to create a shopping guide for the area comprised of Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens. He needed a name for it, and this is what he came up with.

Our verdict: Fake!

©2011 Community Newspaper Group

←Nightlife: Misplaced Gowanus dance club to become neighborhood music venue

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