Palermo "Queens"

Renaming neighborhoods to increase real estate values is par for the course--at least in the U.S. In New York, Hell's Kitchen became Clinton, for example, while in New Orleans the Irish Channel got smoothed into the Lower Garden District. But this obfuscatory marketing technique, like so many of the sort that are accepted with a shrug and a wry grin in the U.S., is getting a slightly more earnest reaction in Buenos Aires. As Buenos Aires realtors Palermofy more neighborhood names in order to cash in on Palermo love among foreign buyers (and Barcelona mocks them accordingly), the local consmer protection agency--the Defensoría del Pueblo de la Ciudad--is asking that Shenk Inmobiliaria, which renamed part of Villa Crespo "Palermo Queens" ("Palermo Staten Island" presumably being taken), be investigated and possibly fined for deceptive marketing. In August, a square meter in Villa Crespo went for US$600 while one in "Palermo Queens" fetched US$1,050.

Don't even ask about Palermo Bronx.