Federal relief arriving (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Despite the coronavirus causing mass death, displacement, and unemployment last year, federal relief staved off the worst of its socio-economic effects and prevented a massive spike in poverty, new Census data revealed this past week.

While incomes did decline and the national poverty rate increased marginally in 2020, a more expansive poverty measure that accounts for the effect of government programs showed a decrease as millions of people were kept from falling into poverty and

NYC Census efforts (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Despite concerns that the 2020 Census count in New York City would reflect a major minority undercount and leave out people who left because of the pandemic, we came out on top.

The results of the Census were outstanding for the region. After decades of alleged Census undercounts, the New York City saw its population grow by 7.7% since 2010.

And it’s even more remarkable given unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic and the Trump administration.

New York State Senate (photo: NY Senate Media Services)

The United States Census released the nation’s population data by congressional and state legislative district on August 12, setting underway the re-districting of legislative seats, controlled by each individual state. The process will now unfold in New York and around the nation, with control of the House of Representatives and state legislatures on the line.

Having served in the New York State Legislature for 32 years, I went through three redistrictings, in 1992, 2002, and

New Yorkers get counted (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

The national census headcount happens every 10 years and is the most democratic process we undertake, also making it the largest competition that states can participate in. The population estimates, which are derived from the count, are used to distribute the 435 seats in the House of Representatives amongst all 50 states. The data collected on who we are isn’t only used for apportionment, it’s the best data that federal, state, and local governments, businesses, and universities will have

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (photo: Jeff Reed/City Council)

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform met on Thursday to discuss data-processing errors that will make it impossible for the U.S. Census Bureau to deliver accurate state population totals by the statutory deadline of December 31. Those numbers are then essential to reapportionment efforts as the Census dictates how many seats each state has in the House and are used for redistricting efforts within each state.

During the hearing chaired by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat representing New

Mayor de Blasio doing Census work (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

When our communities are undercounted in the Census—as seems sure to happen in light of the recent Supreme Court decision—it costs us seats in Congress and money for local schools, health services, food assistance, highway construction, and many other services. When our communities are not counted in land use decisions, it costs people their housing, their small businesses, their social networks, and their culture.

With so much on the line, the City of New York developed a $40

A pre-pandemic NYC Census event (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York City Census officials celebrated a robust self-response rate in the Census on Tuesday, despite unprecedented hurdles posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and attempts by the Trump administration to discourage participation. The city’s self-response reached an unofficial 61.8% when the constitutionally mandated decennial population count concluded last week on October 15.

The self-response rate for New York City residents was nearly the same as

A Census march (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to shut down counting of the 2020 Census ahead of the previously-scheduled October 31 conclusion. After several shifts in the deadline, it now appears final that New Yorkers have until Friday morning at 6 a.m. to complete the questionnaire that is required by the U.S. Constitution for counting all residents of the United States every ten years.

As of Wednesday, officials reported the Census completion rate in New York City at 61.4% of households.

The

Census outreach efforts (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

This article was also published in English - read that version here.

El conteo del censo, el cual ocurre una vez por década y se acerca a su conclusión al final de este mes, ha sido muy accidentado en la ciudad de Nueva York. La peor pandemia en un siglo desbarató elaborados planes de alcance comunitario y desató una cascada de efectos

Census march in Sunset Park, Brooklyn (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

This story has also been published in Spanish - find that version here. Esta historia también ha sido publicada en español, encuéntrala aquí.

The once-a-decade

Latino lawmakers & others getting out the 2020 Census count (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

In this unsettling and disturbing time of high uncertainty and racially-motivated hate, one of the most important -- and easiest -- ways Americans can ensure their own protection is by completing the census. When brown Americans fill out the census, it is an act of protest. Even in 2020, many still believe filling out the census is as though we are taking what isn’t ours, and that is exactly the point. As residents of this country, we have a right to take advantage of the

A pre-pandemic Census press conference (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

With less than a month left till the U.S. Census Bureau intends to end its constitutionally-mandated decennial population count, elected officials and advocates issued a dire warning to New Yorkers on Tuesday to fill out the Census questionnaire or risk losing crucial funding for a raft of federal programs as well as political representation in Congress.

Last month, the Trump administration moved up the deadline for the 2020 Census from October 31 to September 30,

Governor Cuomo at a Census conference early this year (photo: governor's office)

After months of relative silence about the ongoing 2020 Census count and with New York at risk of a large and costly undercount, Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday re-launched a state effort to urge New Yorkers to fill out the once-a-decade federal questionnaire.

The COVID-19 pandemic turned the 2020 Census on its head, forcing officials at the city, state, and federal levels to reconsider outreach plans and pivot awareness campaigns. The self-response deadline was extended from

The Census count is ongoing, with high stakes (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Representatives Carolyn Maloney (NY-12) and Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8) unveiled a report on Monday that shows the potential consequences of New York City being undercounted in the 2020 Census. The report comes as New York City continues to lag behind the nationwide response rate to the decennial questionnaire, although the city has gained ground in recent weeks.

As of Sunday, the national self-response rate stood at 61%, while New York City was at 52%. However, New

New York City Census efforts (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

As the cost to confront COVID-19 grows each day, a severe fiscal fallout for New York’s state and city budgets becomes more of a certainty. And with steep cuts to government programs all but assured, we New Yorkers cannot overlook the significance of participating in this year’s Census. Consider this: New York’s recovery will depend on federal funding, and each person not counted can cost New York ...

2020 Census efforts continue, though NY State is MIA (photo: Governor's Office)

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York, it posed severe impediments to the 2020 Census process, forcing local, state, and federal officials to suspend plans for on-the-ground outreach to make sure all state residents are counted. But federal and city officials have continued remote operations to encourage a robust self-response to the decennial population count and, as regions across New York State begin to approach a sense of normalcy, the U.S. Census Bureau has resumed

Federal aid to New York City is even more urgent than ever (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

While many of our daily activities remain on hold, the 2020 Census must still be taken and completed this year. Not only is it required by the U.S. Constitution, but there is a tremendous amount at stake for New York, including billions of dollars in federal aid, a fair allocation of seats in Congress, and accurate representation in state and local government. From road repairs to education and social services, over 300 federal programs are driven by census data.

Through my

Gov. Cuomo at the NY Census Conference (photo: governor's office)

According to plans, New York state government would have spent the equivalent of $70 million this year on its effort to ensure that all New Yorkers are counted in the 2020 Census. But as the state has experienced a devastating coronavirus outbreak, that effort has, for all appearances, never gotten off the ground, and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration has done little to inform residents that it is in their best interest and that of the entire state to fill out the Census.

The

Coronavirus has shifted Census efforts (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

The New York Public Library had set up dedicated chromebook computers that only connected to the 2020 Census website. The Brooklyn Public Library prepared “mobile units” of internet-connected tablets that could be dispatched to community centers and groups. Outreach employees from the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC) and SOMOS Community Care were starting to canvas areas of upper Manhattan to help passersby understand the benefits of participating

Gov. Cuomo at a state census conference in January (photo: Governor's Office)

Before the coronavirus overwhelmed New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo wanted the equivalent of a $70 million effort to ensure that New Yorkers are accurately counted in this year’s Census. That was to include $10 million just appropriated in the state budget approved this past week. But the plans behind the Cuomo administration’s census campaign remain vague at best and nonexistent at worst as the state struggles to combat the coronavirus outbreak that hit after New York

2020 Census website to fill out the questionnaire

The U.S. Census Bureau faced a behemoth of an undertaking this year: counting each and every resident across the country’s 50 states and various territories. It’s a task that’s carried out every ten years and requires years of planning and untold levels of individual and collective effort, and can still end up being inaccurate. And all that was before the coronavirus pandemic sent the nation into

2020 Census Day is here; many New Yorkers have already filled out the Census (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

It’s officially “Census Day” -- April 1 -- and though the decennial population count began two weeks ago, by now virtually all households across the United States should have received some form of notification from the U.S. Census Bureau informing them of the ways they can fill out the demographic questionnaire. Census Day itself is more of a marker, not a deadline, to rally people to fill out the questionnaire and the date at which

Census organizing efforts before coronavirus (photo: @JulieMenin)

Officials at the city, state, and federal levels had for years planned varying efforts to conduct a robust outreach campaign this year for the 2020 Census, to ensure an accurate count of New York’s population that will determine the level of federal funding the state receives and its representation in Congress. But the coronavirus outbreak has upended those plans, which relied heavily on person-to-person contact, especially in the hardest-to-count communities, and officials are beginning to course

Efforts continue to get every New Yorker counted in 2020 Census (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

New York City has reached a first-of-its kind agreement with the U.S. Census Bureau to transfer data on the city’s sheltered homeless population in a way that is intended to negate the need for census enumerators to perform their own separate count.

Through the agreement, which was described to Gotham Gazette by an official from the city’s census office, the city will compile data on the roughly 60,000 people expected to be sheltered at around 650 sites in

The 2020 Census begins now (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

The 2020 Census process kicks off today -- Thursday March 12 -- as the U.S. Census Bureau began sending out mailers across the country and its territories to inform people about how to fill out the decennial questionnaire, which was also just made available online.

Every ten years, the Census attempts to collect information on every resident of the United States and its five territories. In all, the Census