What's in a name? (Part 1)

What's in a place name?  New York by any other name would still smell like New York.

New York City seems to love neighborhood names that are acronyms or abbreviations of one sort or another.  To test your NYIQ, here is a quiz in two parts.  See if you can associate the place name with the general geographic location of the neighborhood.

The prize?  Having a high NYIQ is its own reward (or curse, depending on your point of view).

Good luck.  (The answers appear below the photo of the Charging Bull.)

Part 1, Established Neighborhood Names:

1. SoHo
2. TriBeCa
3. NoLITA
4. DUMBO
5. NoHo
6. NoMad
7. DoBro
8. FiDi

Part 2, Fictitious and Wannabe Neighborhood Names:

1. SoHoLita 
2. Hellsea 
3. Welsea
4. RAMBO
5. SoCo
6. PLG
7. WiN
8. BoCoCa,
9. GoCaGa 
10. LoDel  
11. SoBro
12. SpaHa
13. ProCro
14. MiMa
15. SoPo
16. DUKBO

Clue:  The Charging Bull, in the financial area near Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange, is located in one of the established neighborhoods noted in the quiz.

ANSWERS:

Part 1, Established Neighborhood Names:

1. SoHo, South of Houston, the area below Houston St. south of Greenwich Village
2. TriBeCa, Triangle Below Canal, the triangular area below Canal St.
3. NoLita, North of Little Italy, self-explanatory
4. DUMBO, Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass, the now trendy waterfront area in Brooklyn located under the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges
5. NoHo, North of Houston, a more recently minted name designating the area above Houston St. adjacent to central Greenwich Village and the East Village
6. NoMad, North of Madison Square Park, another recently minted name that is self-explanatory
7. DoBro, Downtown Brooklyn, gentrification has come to downtown Brooklyn and made it trendy.  Who knew? 
8. FiDi, the Financial District, lower Manhattan around Wall Street with an increasing amount of residential development.  The home of the Charging Bull.

Part 2, Fictitious and Wannabe Neighborhood Names:

1. SoHoLita, a mash-up of SoHo and Little Italy, the area on the edge of both long established neighborhoods 
2. Hellsea, Hell's Kitchen near Chelsea, the south end of Hell's Kitchen adjacent to now more than ever trendy Chelsea for those who wish they actually lived in Chelsea.  (Hell's Kitchen is now called Clinton by some.  Not everyone likes the new name.)   
3. Welsea, West Chelsea, self-explanatory
4. RAMBO, Right Around Manhattan Bridge Overpass, think Greater DUMBO
5. SoCo, South of Columbia University, the area south of the Columbia campus in Morningside Heights
6. PLG, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, the area in Brooklyn adjacent to the east side of Prospect Park, aka Flatbush
7. WiNo, Williamsburg North, the area in Brooklyn north of trendy Williamsburg
8. BoCoCa, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, the area south of Brooklyn Heights 
9. GoCaGa, Gowanus/Carroll Gardens, the area east of Park Slope in Brooklyn (Carroll Gardens is so popular that it appears in multiple nicknames 
10. LoDel, Below Delancey, the portion of the Lower East Side south of Delancey St.  
11. SoBro, South of the Bronx, self-explanatory
12. SpaHa, Spanish Harlem, self-explanatory
13. ProCro, Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, self-explanatory
14. MiMa, Midtown Manhattan, self-explanatory
15. SoPo, South of Power, referring to the collection of Manhattan neighborhoods in Midtown and Downtown with no electricity following Super Storm Sandy
16. DUKBO, Down Under Kocuiscko Bridge Overpass, self-explanatory but not a good place to be.  The bridge, located along the Brooklyn/Queens border is about to fall down.  No joke.  Fortunately, a replacement bridge is being constructed.  Future DUKBO-ites, unite, but be patient!

SCORING::  
0-3 Correct, Fuggedaboutit
4-7, Potential New Yorker
8-17, You must be a New Yorker
18-24, You must be a NYC broker

[P.S.  The rebranding game currently being played out in NYC (rebranding is also known as "brokerbabble") masks the serious issue of gentrification of neighborhoods as people of means look for more space and seek relief from the high prices of many Manhattan and Brooklyn neighborhoods gentrified long ago.  This phenomenon is not new.  Whether you are indifferent to gentrification, there are many long-term adverse consequences to working class families, small businesses, the neediest and the city as whole to consider.  The recent film In Jackson Heights illustrates how gentrification over time might impact that Queens neighborhood and other neighborhoods in or near Manhattan.]

If you like maps, the Manhattan and Brooklyn maps below will help place the various neighborhoods mentioned above.