If anyone says that they have a bridge in Brooklyn that they'd like to sell you, it's not theirs to sell unless they represent the New York City Department of Transportation. But this hasn't stopped some from trying and succeeding.

In 1983, renovations to the bridge removed an original wooden pedestrian walkway. An entrepreneurial man, Paul Hartunian, contacted the construction crew's foreman to find out what would happen to the old, rotting wood. On finding out it would be scrapped, he offered to buy the wood for $500. He had the wood cut into 1-inch by 1/8-inch pieces. Accompanied by a certificate of authentication, he sold the pieces for $14.95 each.

In February 2002, Mayor Michael Bloomberg pursued options to either transfer ownership or sell the Brooklyn Bridge to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to close a $5 billion city budget gap. This plan never moved beyond the proposal stage, though. Any transfer or sale of the Brooklyn Bridge would require the approval of the New York City Council and the State Legislature.

Includes reporting from nycroads.com and prosperousinternet.com