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Excuse Me, Google? What Is A "Midtown South Central?"
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jul 17, 2012
Modified Jul 17, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Jul 17, 2012
Modified Jul 17, 2012
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What in the? "Midtown South Central?" Really search giant, where is that? We ask because a reader just pointed out that, according to Google Maps, that is a place in Manhattan. A place this writer has never once heard referred to despite being born and raised on the island.
From what we can tell, the area that Google (and, it seems, some real estaters) has defined as "Midtown South Central" is the quirky bit above the Flatiron District, west of Kips Bay, east of Chelsea and the Garment District and below Koreatown. An area whose name has been in flux for years and which lately has been (for better or worse) increasingly referred to as NoMad (North of Madison Square, get it?). In fact, when we worked at Zagat years ago we actually regularly bickered with coworkers about what to call the area. But Midtown South Central? No.
Look, we aren't exactly the biggest fans of NoMad, and we understand that neighborhoods are constantly getting new names that sometimes stick (DUMBO, NoLIta, TriBeCa to name a few) and sometimes don't. And we appreciate how quickly Google Maps can add new things to its very useful service—6 1/2 Avenue is on it!!—but this one is just silly.
We've reached out to Google to find out how exactly this new name made the maps (and how we can get them to drop it). But while we wait for a reply, and while we are on the topic, anybody ever heard of Tompkins Park North, Brooklyn before?
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