A block in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., was identified as the borough's "drug section" by Google Maps, the Village Voice reported Thursday.
A Redditor found the apparent mistake and posted it to the site, asking others how it could have happened. People speculated that the "drug section" was most likely the creation of someone toying with Google's MapMaker product -- just one of the ways the powers that be at Google build out their complex maps database.
While the original map had "drug section" written along part of West 8th Street, that's since been removed. (Gothamist has a screenshot.) However, as of Thursday afternoon, typing "drug section" into Google Maps for Brooklyn still pinpointed the corner of Bay Parkway and West 8th.
When asked how he or she came across the apparent mistake, the Redditor who posted the map wrote, "I was getting directions to a Guatemalan restaurant on Ave O and it said 'turn left at the drug section.'"
Some on the Reddit thread sounded off on whether they thought the area really was the nexus of drug transactions in Brooklyn, saying it's actually pretty "quiet," while one person speculated the marker was put there by "an actual drug dealer who was looking to promote business."
Bensonhurst was, however, recently cited as one of the three South Brooklyn neighborhoods suffering from a heroin problem.
When asked about the mistake, a Google spokesperson told Gothamist, "Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We're aware of the issue and are working to fix it."