Making Sense of the Census
1,000 New
Reasons to
Complete
the Census
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Every weekday at 11 a.m.
on channel THIRTEEN
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR MAY 29-JUNE 4, 2020 21
Pols want funds for Mott
Haven jail to be used for
COVID-19 relief
BY JASON COHEN
As COVID-19 is ravaging the Bronx,
taking lives and shuttering stores,
many people may have forgotten that
the city is planning to put a jail in Mott
Haven.
This jail, along with three other borough
based jails, in Brooklyn, Queens
and Manhattan, will replace Rikers Island,
which is closing in 2026.
However, Congressman Jose Serrano
and Borough President Ruben
Diaz, Jr. realize that Mott Haven has
been devastated by COVID-19 and will
need help rebuilding economically.
Therefore, they sent a letter on May
20 to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Speaker
Corey Johnson asking them to reconsider
funding for the construction of
this new jail facility and instead redirect
them to support important programs
for vulnerable Bronxites.
“We believe that as the budget process
moves forward, the city should
commit to re-allocating those funds for
the many of the important programs
that provide critical educational and
economic opportunities in our most
vulnerable communities, including the
previously cancelled Summer Youth
Employment Program (SYEP) and the
planned expansion of 3-K programming
in our schools,” they said in the
letter.
“The proposed Bronx jail site in Mott
Haven is perhaps the clearest example
of why the current jail plans make little
sense in this moment, and why there
is a clear need to reinvest those funds
more responsibly,” the letter went on to
say. “Mott Haven – a lower-income community
of mostly African-American
and Latino New Yorkers – faced signifi -
cant social, health and environmental
issues before COVID-19 struck. Now, it
is suffering even more than before.”
With huge opposition from community
members and elected offi cials, the
Council pushed through an $8.7 billion
plan to construct the four jails last
year. While the funding for this is not
in the upcoming budget, capital budget
still calls for billions in funding in
future years, money Serrano and Diaz
believe is needed elsewhere due to the
coronavirus.
“The coming budget discussions
have the potential to further exacerbate
existing inequalities in our city
and in our communities if planned budget
cuts go ahead as planned the city
budget is due soon and your offi ces will
soon get to work in a way that refl ects
our new COVID-19 reality,” they stated
in the letter. “It is the city’s responsibility
to make sure that all New Yorkers,
including the communities that are
most impacted by the virus and who
are the least able to recover, get the support
they need.”
By Julie Menin, Director of NYC
Census 2020
The 2020 Census is still happening,
and there’s still time for you to
be counted. And now, there are 1,000
more reasons to fill it out.
Aside from the hundreds of billions
of dollars in funding the census
brings for our communities over
the next decade, the 2020 Census is
now bringing 10 lucky New Yorkers a
chance to win $1,000 in Seamless gift
cards.
As of Memorial Day weekend, just
over 50% of NYC households have responded
to the census. This is good
news, but we need to go much further.
The census is a national competition
for resources, and we need everyone
counted to make sure all our communities
get the funding we deserve for
our hospitals, emergency services,
health care, schools, housing, infrastructure,
and much more.
Especially as we recover from
COVID-19, those funds are going to
be more critical than ever. And at
this moment when so many of us
are still struggling through the pandemic,
this unprecedented partnership
isn’t just a great new incentive
to be counted, but also will be a helpful
source for at least a few New Yorkers.
Ready to be counted? Fill out the
2020 Census at my2020census.gov, take a
photo or screenshot of the confirmation
page, and upload it and complete the
entry form on nyc.gov/CensusContest.
Ten winners will be selected weekly
over the next ten weeks. So the sooner
you’re counted and enter, the more
chances you have to win.”
“Making Sense of the Census” is a
weekly column from Julie Menin, Director
of NYC Census 2020. Every week we
will be publishing pieces from Julie and
guest authors laying out the facts and
answering tough questions about this
year’s census. Fill out the census now at
my2020census.gov.
Reading and Writing
Math
Science
Social Studies
& More
Visit schools.nyc.gov/letslearn
to find out more.
Content airs in English. Spanish captions are also available.
Congressman Jose Serrano and BP Ruben Diaz sent a letter regarding using the fudns for
the Mott Haven jail for COVID-19 relief. File photo
/CensusContest
/my2020census.gov
/my2020census.gov
/letslearn