Google Maps Names A Brooklyn Block As The “Drug Section”

It is pretty difficult to live in a politically correct environment these days, where everything that you say needs to be weighed extremely carefully so as not to offend any party out there. Well, tact and wisdom needs to be applied all the time, so it is rather surprising to see for ourselves that a block in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, has appeared on Google Maps as the “West 8th Street drug section.” Of course, the residents living there are definitely far from amused, of course.

It was earlier today that a Reddit user actually discovered that West 8th Street between Bay Parkway and Avenue O had been given the label of the “drug section” on Google Maps. How did he stumble upon this particular discovery? Well, he was using Google Maps in order to get to a Guatemalan restaurant on Avenue O, and hence the map somehow advised him to “turn left at the drug section.”

How did this particular label come about? There is the possibility of the “drug section” name originating from someone who used the Google Mapmaker tool, which in turn crowdsources names for businesses, public buildings and other places. Of course, by this evening, the words “drug section” were removed, which is a good thing to keep everyone happy and avoid any misunderstandings.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Computers
Tags: Google, Google Maps