Ocasio-Cortes discusses homelessness, census at CB 11
Ocasio-Cortez speaks at the monthly Community Board 11 meeting at Einstein College of Medicine.
Schneps Media / Kyle Vuille
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BY KYLE VUILLE
Congresswoman Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez paid an unexpected
visit to Community
Board 11 on Thursday, January
23, where she discussed
the 2020 Census, partisan politics
and homelessness.
As the 2020 Census rapidly
approaches, she strongly
urged the board to reach out
to the community to participate
in the count so the Bronx
can get the appropriate funding
it needs.
“The problem is our district
is one of the least counted
communities in the country,
and the problem with that is
when our families do not answer
the census, the federal
government thinks less people
live here than they do,”
Ocasio-Cortez said. “Which
means our schools get less
money than they need, which
means our infrastructure,
our roads and bridges don’t
get prepared for the population.”
The congresswoman assured
the public there will
not be an immigration status
question on the census like
previous years, which some
believe resulted in the lack of
participation.
“There are some neighborhoods
in our community that
are counted at 60 to 68 percent
of the actual reality, which
means we’re only getting 60
percent of the funding that
we need,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“So, as local leaders, we need
to make sure to get the word
out about that.”
CB 11 chairman Al
D’Angelo told Ocasio-Cortez
to send a message back to
Washington saying the people
are sick of the bipartisan politics
because nothing is getting
done and it is ultimately hurting
the people.
This sparked Ocasio-Cortez
to speak on a recent agreement
between the two parties
regarding civil liberties and
more specifi cally, face recognition
technology.
“One in every two Americans
has their facial recognition
information in a database
and most people don’t know
it,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “So
half the people in this room
have their information in a facial
recognition database.”
When Delta Airlines asks
to scan your face in order to
board the board a fl ight, no
one is legally obligated to consent
to the scan, she advised.
Rabbi Moshe Fuchs’ question
on homelessness in the
city rounded out the congresswoman’s
night.
“It seems to me just from
my own observation,” Fuchs
said. “Homelessness is all over
the place.”
Ocasio-Cortez said it’s a
question everybody should be
asking themselves, since it really
concerns human empathy.
“Rates of homelessness
are skyrocketing in the city,
we have the highest rate of
homelessness in NYC since
the Great Depression,” Ocasio
Cortez said. “But to contrast
that, even with the highest
rate, there are three empty
apartments for every person
experiencing homeless in the
city.”
She also pointed out that
affordable housing is not actually
affordable for most middle
class families.
“As many of us know, what
gets called affordable housing
in New York City is not affordable
at all,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“I’m seeing affordable housing
units go up for people and families
making a $150,000 a year,
that’s not affordable.”
Ocasio-Cortez said she
would be taking all the evening’s
concerns back with her
to D.C.
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