New York City census director explains why
participating in the 2020 census is crucial for the state
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
New York City is halfway to
getting everyone counted
in the 2020 census.
As of July 21, New York State as
a whole has a 57.8% self-response
rate, compared to the national
rate of 62.3%. New York City has
a 53.6% self-response rate, with a
55.2% rate in Manhattan.
“We still have a long way to
go to get everyone in New York
counted,” said Julie Menin, Director
of NYC Census 2020. “This is
not the time to be invisible.”
Menin stated that now more
than ever it’s incredibly important
to participate in the census
because the city and state often
relies on census data to fund
city and state programs, and
could even determine how much
representation New York has in
Congress.
“So many programs rely on the
census, like funding for schools,
senior housing, and so many
more. New York currently has
27 seats in Congress. If we undercount,
it could drop down to
Director of Census for New York Julie Menin speaks at Census
2020 rally outside of City Hall Park.
25,” said Menin. “It can even help
with COVID. Back when New
York had a measles outbreak, the
Department of Health looked to
census data to know how many
vaccines to order.”
Due to the pandemic, the 2020
census deadline has been extended
to Oct. 31. Currently, there are
three ways to self-respond to the
census: online at mycensus2020.
gov, over the phone, or by mailing
PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
in the questionnaire that was
originally sent out. Even with
these measures in place, the NYC
Census is stepping up its efforts to
get more people counted.
As of July 14, the NYC Census
team has called 1,060,900 New
Yorkers using their “Virtual
Phonebank” tool, allowing them
to directly reach 182,355 individuals
and encouraged them to
complete the census. The NYC
Census 2020 team has also sent
5,901,035 text messages through
Hustle, reaching 1,500,141 different
New Yorkers.
Menin also noted that NYC
Census 2020 will be bringing
back door-knockers in August
who will go door-to-door to those
who have not fi lled out the census
yet.
“Most people do not respond to
the census,” said Menin. “Doorknocking
is a critical component
to the census. If you don’t want a
knock at the door, you can fi ll out
the census.”
Menin also noted that NYC
Census 2020 can get the green
light to open up 300 pop-up sites
that can help New Yorkers who
lack access to the internet to fi ll
out the census.
“We had planned the pop-up
sites pre-COVID,” said Menin.
“These sites are critical, considering
one-third of New Yorkers lack
access to broadband.”
Throughout 2020, NYC Census
2020 has rolled out various
ad campaigns to encourage selfresponse
to the census, including
15 paid campaigns to date and
a dozen “organic” campaigns,
which were in 26 languages
across 175+ publications/outlets/
sites across 7 mediums, and a
fi rst-of-its-kind digital organizing
campaign through WhatsApp,
KakaoTalk, and WeChat
in 16 languages. They have also
distributed posters in over 900
businesses throughout New York
City.
Additionally, as of July 10, NYC
Census 2020 has now provided
direct, on-the-ground, one-onone
assistance with completing
the 2020 Census to approximately
1,175 New York City households
at 39 food distribution sites across
the fi ve boroughs in multiple
languages. NYC Census 2020 is
also running a contest for those
who have fi lled out the census to
win a $1,000 gift certifi cate for
Seamless. To enter, visit the New
York City Census Contest Page
and fi ll out the information and
your census completion number.
For more information or to
fi ll out the census, visit mycensus2020.
gov.
Demand for cars remain on the rise, something transit
advocates can live without
BY MARK HALLUM
A popular online marketplace for car purchasers issued
the second part of a recent consumer report
showing that residents of urban areas are shopping
at a higher rate than before the COVID-19 pandemic, some
citing mass transit as a factor in their thinking.
With outreach completed in April and again in June,
CarGurus.com says that of 779 shoppers surveyed 22%
had not considered doing so before the epidemic and 33%
expect to use cars more often going forward. Up to 44%
of shoppers nationwide said they planned to avoid mass
transit entirely.
“The benchmarked CarGurus COVID-19 Sentiment
Study showed us that while 2020 auto sales may be lagging,
they are certainly not lost due to the pandemic,” Madison
Gross, Director of Customer Insights at CarGurus, said.
“The study also shows us that COVID-19 has caused
vehicle ownership to become more vital to consumers’
everyday lives, often replacing other transportation methods
such as ride-sharing or public transit.”
Even car shares are no exemption with 39% of respondents
saying they hope to eliminate the use of Lyft and
Uber under the same pandemic precautions, according to
the report. Of those in the sample who live in urban and
suburban areas, 51% and 40% of car shoppers respectively
were looking to avoid public transportation.
The company’s April report showed that 79% of shoppers
were delaying making a purchase at the time. This
number has decreased to 68% which depict slow and
cautious steps toward buying cars, but an increase none
the less. Up to 722 shoppers were surveyed in the previous
report.
How New York City will handle an infl ux of personal
vehicles, however, has not been made clear by political
leaders.
“The last thing our cities need is more traffi c, especially
dense congested cities like New York. We could be looking
at catastrophic congestion if even a fraction of would-be
transit riders start driving every day,” Transportation Alternatives
spokesman Joe Cutrufo said. “In London and
Paris, they’re doubling down on safe infrastructure for
cycling to keep up with the demand for physically-distant
transportation. We’re seeing a similar bike boom in New
York, but unfortunately, our mayor hasn’t heard the urgent
calls to accommodate it.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio says he has been mulling the possibility
of imposing HOV lanes in the city to prevent cars
from surging throughout the city’s already hemorrhaging
streets since he was asked about it in a press conference
last week, has not broached the subject since.
“To avert a smoggy, sweltering new normal, New
Yorkers need leaders who put bus riders, pedestrians,
and cyclists fi rst on our streets,” Danny Pearlstein, policy
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
director for the Riders Alliance, said. “Mayor de Blasio
has to implement policies now that stop any trend toward
more driving, which would make New York a less fair and
livable city.”
Meanwhile, public transportation may not be a health
threat it was considered to be early on in the pandemic
which caused the MTA’s ridership to plummet over 90%.
Not because mass transit is not a vector, but because
the MTA has been on a cleaning streak since May that
shuts down the subways overnight between 1 a.m. and 5
a.m. for disinfecting and continues throughout the day on
trains, buses and in stations. The MTA is also enforcing
its own mask requirement to prevent passengers from
entering the system without a personal prophylactic on
their face.
14 July 23, 2020 Schneps Media
/CarGurus.com
