Buzz
Ribbon dancers were part of the flash mob. Dancing to the rhythm in Times Square.
Flash mob’s Census sign-up dance in Times
Square brings some
fun back to Midtown
BY TODD MAISEL
Times Square was alive again with
music and dancing on Sept. 23 even
as all the Broadway theaters remain
dark due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Association for a Better New York
(ABNY) joined community organizers,
census advocates and professional dancers
hosted a live, in-person fl ash mob dance
and census-taking event Wednesday afternoon
in Duffy Square with emphasis on
signing people up for the census.
With the self-response period of the
census ending on or about Sept. 30, ABNY
is calling upon New Yorkers to fi ll out their
census and celebrate the diversity of New
York City through dance.
The performers maintained six feet apart
and wearing face coverings for protection.
Tap dancer Omar Edwards, a staple on
the Broadway circuit, highlighted the
performance.
The day’s celebration encouraged New
Yorkers to complete their census forms
and served as a tribute to a still active and
exciting New York City. Times Square, an
inconceivable ghost town at the height of
the pandemic in March and April, sees
more and more visitors returning there
each day.
In addition to the live fl ash mob performance,
ABNY is partnering with the U.S.
Census Bureau in their Mobile Questionnaire
Assistance (MQA) program to assist
people in self-responding to the 2020 Census.
Local census response representatives
were onsite to help attendees complete their
Census form on a 2020 Census tablet or on
their own device, while practicing state and
local social distancing protocols.
All census workers have been trained
in social distancing protocols and issued
personal protective equipment, to be worn
during MQA support. Hand sanitizer and
masks will also be available onsite.
PHOTOS BY TODD MAISEL
Dawn Kelly of the Nourish Spot, one of
the sponsors of the event with employee
Sebastian Roseway, helped sign up people
to fi ll out the census.
“We all need to be counted because if we
are not counted, small businesses like mine
won’t have the resources we need to service
the demographics in our community,” Kelly
said. “We won’t have the bridges and the
hospitals we need. we need counted so that
the federal funding that is supposed to go
to NYC comes to the people who need it
most.”
The event was held in partnership with
Times Square Alliance, NYC Census 2020,
New York City Council, New York Counts
2020, Central Labor Council, and United
Way as part of New York City’s Census
Week of Action “Countdown to Our
Future” to make sure that everyone gets
counted, whether electronically, online, or
in-person.
Omar Edwards taps for Census.
Dawn Kelly of the Nourish Spot, one of the sponsors of
the event with employee Sebastian Roseway, helped sign
up people to fill out the census.
18 October 1, 2020 Schneps Media