Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

census

census

  • Don’t Let Them Win - Muslim New Yorkers Must Participate in the 2020 Census

    islamic visits mayor

    Muslim New Yorkers in prayer (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    As we again learned in 2016 and 2018 that voting matters and elections have consequences, we must also recognize -- ahead of time, right now -- that the 2020 Census matters and not being counted has consequences.

    After 2016, many New Yorkers have been mobilizing to bring progressive voices to elections: from supporting change in Albany and flipping local House seats to turning entire state legislatures blue across the nation and backing chosen presidential

    ...
  • 'They're Conditioned to Just Ignore or Erase Us': Native Americans in New York Fear Another Census Undercount

    native american comm

    American Indian Community House is working on the 2020 Census (photo: @AICHNYC)


    The decennial Census is an exercise in counting every single resident of the United States of America, but the tragic irony of the process is that it routinely undercounts the very people who first called this continent their home. Native Americans, who now make up about 1% of New York State’s population, worry that it may happen again this year, perpetuating the official apathy to their people that they have come to expect from the federal government.

    About 194,000 New Yorkers

    ...
  • Central Brooklyn Officials Organize ‘Day of Action’ to Raise 2020 Census Awareness in Hard-to-Count Neighborhoods

    central bk census

    Senator Myrie, Assemblymember Richardson, and volunteers (photo: Vashon Hill Jr.)


    Predominantly black communities often have among the lowest response rates to the U.S. Census, the once-a-decade count of the country’s population mandated by the Constitution. In New York City, those and other hard-to-count groups contributed to an especially low response rate in 2010, which can hurt New York’s ability to bring in federal funding, among other important negative consequences,

    ...
  • 'Urgent' Bill to Enhance Census Language Translation Services Approved by Senate, Awaits Assembly Counterpart

    salazar census rally

    State Senator Julia Salazar at a Census rally


    The U.S. Census Bureau will soon kick off the 2020 Census count by sending mail to households to inform them about filling out a questionnaire that lists their names, where they live and how many people live with them, their race and ethnicity, and other information. Self-response to the Census yields the most accurate information about households and given that New Yorkers speak more than 200 languages, Brooklyn State Senator Julia Salazar wants to take steps to ensure that as many people are guided toward participation in

    ...
  • Congressional Hearing Raises Red Flags About U.S. Census Bureau Preparedness as 2020 Count Set to Begin

    census off rally

    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing this past week with representatives of the U.S. Census Bureau to examine preparedness for the 2020 Census. Data collection for the Census count has already begun in remote parts of Alaska, some initial mailings will go out mid-March, and the full count officially begins across the country on April 1.

    Exchanges at the Wednesday hearing, along with a report released just before it that informed much of the discussion, raised

    ...
  • Engaging Black Media, City Looks to Boost Government Trust, Census Responsiveness in Black Communities

    rally census partners

    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Black communities in New York have historically been more likely to be undercounted by the U.S. Census Bureau, meaning fewer federal resources and political underrepresentation for those who are often the most vulnerable members of the population and those who have often been disenfranchised and discriminated against. It’s a trend that city officials are hoping to counter in this year’s Census, with the help of nonprofit community-based organizations, and grassroots organizers. On Monday, at a

    ...
  • Why Boosting Self-Response Rate is City's Census Holy Grail

    census app

    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Every ten years, the U.S. Census Bureau undertakes the herculean task of counting the residents of the entire country. The process, which will occur this year, largely relies on people telling the federal government about themselves – who they are, who they live with, their age, their race, for instance -- in a count that has immense influence over how federal funding is allocated and congressional representation, among other things.

    When people don’t respond to the Census questionnaire on their own, the Census

    ...
  • New York City Launches ‘Complete Count Campaign’ for 2020 Census

    complete count census

    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    In about eight weeks, the U.S. Census Bureau will officially begin mailing out questionnaires across the country and New York City intends to be prepared. On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio rallied with members of more than 150 community groups at NYU’s Kimmel Center to launch the city’s Complete Count Campaign to educate New Yorkers about the decennial population count and to recruit and train volunteers from hard-to-count communities to amplify those efforts.

    The mayor's administration and

    ...
  • City Awards $19 Million in Census Funds to Community Outreach Organizations

    may bdb census

    Mayor de Blasio with Census Director Julie Menin and others (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    As the U.S. Census Bureau prepares to send out questionnaires for the decennial population count beginning in March, city officials are working to make sure that New York City residents respond en masse. On Friday, the city is announcing a list of 155 organizations that will receive some part of a $19-million funding pot to conduct outreach in hard-to-count communities and populations across the city.

    The city’s Complete Count Fund makes up nearly half the $40 million

    ...
  • Cuomo Announces Census Outreach and Funding Plans

    peeskill downtown

    (Photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    After months of uncertainty about the state’s commitment to the 2020 Census, and repeated exasperated pleas for funding from advocates and elected officials, Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced that the state will devote up to the equivalent of $60 million in outreach efforts for the decennial population count. According to a press release from the governor’s office, Cuomo is directing state agencies to dedicate what amounts to roughly $40 million worth of Census activities, such as helping New Yorkers fill out

    ...
  • Advocates Remind State Leaders of Approaching Deadline to Name Redistricting Commission

    new york start capitol

    (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)


    New York State government leaders are fond of appointing commissions, but those bodies are not known for meeting their deadlines. With those facts in mind, an advocacy group released a public letter Tuesday with an important message about governmental machinations that will significantly impact the state’s future.

    With the 2020 Census around the corner, the League of Women Voters of New York State is urging the state Legislature to keep its eye on a key deadline that falls ahead of the all-important population

    ...
  • 'It's Critical We Get the Planning Right': Council Examines City's Initial Preparations for 2020 Census Count

    cm carlina riv carlos m press

    (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    With the launch of the 2020 Census barely five months away, the New York City Council on Tuesday summoned officials from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration for a progress report on the city’s preparations for the decennial population count. It is a count that has a great deal riding on it, from billions of dollars in federal funding to representation in Congress, and more.

    Convening a joint hearing of the Committees on Governmental Operations, Immigration, and State and Federal

    ...
  • State Census Commission Releases Report, with Funding Decisions Kicked Back to Cuomo Administration

    mmv president attends

    (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


    A state commission charged with creating a plan for ensuring a complete count of New York residents in the 2020 Census has finally released its report, nine months after it was due and with continued ambiguity over how state census funding will be distributed.

    The New York State Complete Count Commission, made up of executive and legislative branch appointees, spent months holding hearings across the state to solicit input on the challenges posed by the decennial census and how the state should respond. The

    ...
  • As City Rolls Out Census Funding for Outreach Efforts, State Lags Behind

    union sq counts

    (photo: @NYCImmigrants)


    New York City is moving full steam ahead with its effort to ensure that the 2020 Census counts each and every resident of the five boroughs, with millions of dollars in funding and a four-pillar strategy for outreach to hard-to-count communities. But New York State’s effort seems to have stalled and there is little indication that state authorities are moving with urgency despite the many billions of dollars in federal funding and congressional representation at stake.

    In the 2010 Census, New York City residents’ self-response rate to the

    ...
  • As Census Moves Online, City Comptroller Warns of Digital Divide and Recommends Steps to Bridge It

    comp scott stringerab

    Comptroller Stringer (photo: @NYCComptroller)


    The first Census to be conducted primarily online may undercount nearly 2.2 million New Yorkers — mostly communities of color, seniors, and those living around or below the poverty line — putting as much as $5.8 billion in federal funds at stake, according to a ...

  • Solving New York City’s Next Big Census Problem

    resource cm carlos menchaca attends sbs

    (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    New Yorkers got some great news last week when President Trump abandoned plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. Adding the question to the Census would have resulted in a massive undercount of the city’s population, causing New York to lose its share of billions in federal funding for vital programs and services.

    But there’s another wrinkle in this upcoming Census that could significantly depress participation across the city: the move to a digital Census. This will be

    ...
  • Officials Discuss Next Steps in Bridging Digital Divides, Including Online Census

    Cuomo broadband for all

    (photo: governor's office)


    Leaders in civic technology, including elected and appointed government officials, appeared at a forum Monday to discuss the necessary next steps to bridge New York’s gaps in internet access and digital literacy.

    It is essential, they said, that New Yorkers not only have access to the web, for a variety of reasons including job and housing opportunities, but that they are skilled enough to use it. And both gaps must be bridged, they explained, not only in the state’s rural areas, but also in urban

    ...
  • Heading in the Right Direction on City and State Census Funding, But More To Do

    cm carlina rivera press conference

    (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    The 2020 Census is less than a year away, and it is imperative that every single person living in New York is counted. In Mayor de Blasio’s proposed Executive Budget, New York City now has $26 million set aside for census outreach, in addition to an undetermined portion of the State’s $20 million that will go to the City.

    A good start, but we need more than $26 million to ensure a full count, and with less than a year to go before the counting begins, there is still too much

    ...
  • 2010 Change to How New York Prisoners are Counted is Part of Upcoming Census and Redistricting Puzzle

    govcuomo meadow

    (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    As focus on the 2020 Census intensifies, one key aspect of the discussion is how the population count will impact legislative representation and redistricting. Along with new congressional districts -- New York stands to lose at least one if not two seats in the House of Representatives -- ...

  • New York’s New, Untested Redistricting Process Set to Unfold After 2020 Census

    state map

    NY State Senate Districts (image via Google Maps)


    Following the 2020 Census, New York will kick off the decennial redrawing of its state legislative and congressional districts to ensure equitable representation based on population. But the next redistricting process is untested so far, having been approved after the 2010 Census when New York saw a severe undercount, contributing to the loss of one congressional seat, followed by a redistricting that many observers and elected officials criticized for creating overly complicated state legislative districts on partisan

    ...
  • New York City Can’t Be Foolish When It Comes to the Census

    Rivera outreach census

    Council Member Rivera, one of the authors (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    Monday may be April Fool’s, but the one thing New Yorkers shouldn’t be joking about is the importance of the 2020 Census.

    April 1 marks one year until Census Day, and in preparation, elected officials are fanning out throughout the five boroughs to talk to New Yorkers about the importance of participating in the census. You may be asking – why is there so much urgency when we still have a year to get ready to fill out this form?

    The census

    ...
  • State, City & Business Community Announce Next Steps on Census

    abny press

    Assemblymember Crespo (photo: @ABetterNY)


    A new poll about the 2020 Census released Thursday showed New Yorkers, particularly Democrats, agree with what elected officials and advocates have expressed fear over for months, that adding a question about citizenship status on the 2020 Census would depress responses and risk an undercount that could have far-reaching consequences for the state.

    A Quinnipiac University poll found that 49 percent of New York

    ...
  • State Census Commission Yet to Be Named or Funded as Key Initial Deadline Passes

    govcuomo pass

    (photo by Governor's Office)


    A legally-mandated state commission that was meant to examine the challenges in counting New York’s population for the 2020 Census and craft recommendations to achieve an accurate count has not been named despite having already missed a January 10 deadline for issuing its initial report.

    Last year, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature included in the state budget a measure to create the New York State 2020 Complete Count

    ...
  • On Census Preparations, State Lags While City, Advocacy Organizations & Business Community Move Ahead

    nyc map via city planning

    (image via New York City's City Planning Department)


    This is part of AGENDA 2019, a joint Gotham Gazette-City Limits project
    Find the rest of the series here

    “It might seem early, but given the challenges that are facing the decennial census in 2020, it’s not early enough,” said Steven Romalewski, director of the mapping service at the Center for Urban Research, CUNY Graduate Center. Advocates, government officials, and members of the business community all agree with

    ...
  • What's The [Data] Point? 2020, with Deputy Mayor Phil Thompson

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 43 -- 2020, with Deputy Mayor Phil Thompson [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    phil thompson pod

    Phil

    ...