Those who like to indulge in nefarious activities may have a temporary tool in the form of Google Maps.
On Thursday, February 27, a Reddit user discovered that a block in Bensohurst (street between West 8th Street and Bay Parkway and Avenue O) neighborhood of Broooklyn, New York, was dubbed the "drug section" on Google Maps.
The thread was started by Reddit user "OneIfByLandWolf" of Park Slope who revealed that he had deployed Google Maps to give him directions to a Guatemalan restaurant on Avenue O. The Google Maps apparently advised him to "turn left at the drug section."
The thread went viral quickly with the Village voice's "Runnin' Scared" blog and Gothamist posting the same.
Several Reddit users found the mistake amusing and made wisecracks about the area being the "drug section."
"I live 5 minutes from here to the South on Ave P. Ironically this is where my mom gets her meds !!" said a Reddit user.
Several residents of the neighbourhood were understandably miffed at the incorrect labelling of the area as a "drug section."
"I walk to the supermarket down at the end of that block almost daily, other than tons of dog crap everywhere I don't see too many druggies. That block is mainly Asian and older people. Lived in the area for almost 20 years, not sure why it's labeled that," said another Reddit user.
OneIfByLandWolf questioned how the mistake could have happened and several users speculate that the "drug section" was most likely a result of somebody fooling around with Google's MapMaker.
Apparently, data that is available on Google Maps comes from a range of sources. The service's basic data can come from third-party providers, user contributions and public sources as well. Suggestions to an update for the map or a problem can be made by any random person.
Moreover, a tool called Map Maker exists, which lets locals of the area share their knowledge directly.
Gothmist pointed out the error to Google and a spokesperson revealed that they were aware and were working on a fix.
The "drug section" mistake has now been fixed by Google.
