SAY GOODBYE (Maybe) TO BoCoCa, La-Fu & Other Fake BK Neighborhoods

Because of a broker, I spent six months believing that my first Brooklyn apartment was situated in the coveted nabe of Park Slope. "Just at the southern tip," I was told, and paid a hefty rent accordingly. Know where I lived, guys? 27TH STREET AND 4TH FUCKIN' AVENUE (Heyyyy, Eagle Provisions! I miss your kielbasa). 

For brokers and Craigslist posters, throwing a cardinal direction onto an existing neighborhood is common when blurring boundary lines (ahem, East Williamsburg). But what appears to be nearly as frequent and MORE ridiculous is the complete fabrication of neighborhood monikers that brokers pull from their asses to inflate rental costs. See: "Pro-Cro" (Prospect and Crown Heights), "La-Fu" (The Lafayette and Fulton intersection in Fort Greene) and my PERSONAL fave, "BoCoCa" (a magical place where Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill collide). The thing is, these names are SO FUCKING STUPID. Who wants to live in a neighborhood that sounds like a sugary cocktail served in a coconut, or a place to take your purse dog for hairapy and a pink bow?

Regardless, a state lawmaker is pushing for a bill that would ban brokers from Frankensteining New York City neighborhoods to jack up rental prices.

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries's proposal is built on an existing law that prohibits brokers from giving false or misleading information on apartments. The proposed bill does have its roadblocks though. “It would be great if neighborhoods had specific boundaries — but they don’t,” said John Reinhardt, president and chief executive officer of Fillmore Real Estate, a Brooklyn firm. And it won't prohibit non-brokers from pulling this shit, so for any newbies to the borough who are apartment hunting on Craigslist, it's probably best to do some kind of research before signing a one-year lease for a pricey studio in "Parkslowanus" or "Williamswick." 

SO: What do you guys think of this whole sitch? Will the bill pass? Does it even matter as our neighborhoods are constantly evolving? Discuss.