City announces $19 million investment to support
community-based census education and organizing
BY BILL PARRY
The city announced an unprecedented
new grants program
that will engage in mass
education and mobilization efforts
across the five boroughs to
ensure a complete and accurate
count during the 2020 Census.
The joint investment if $19
million by the de Blasio administration
and the City Council
marks the city’s first-ever
community awards program
focused on census-related organizing
and outreach, and the
largest such investment by any
city nationwide.
“New York City will not be
intimidated. We must stand
and be counted,” Mayor de
Blasio said. “With the help of
our partners and grassroots
organizing, I’m confident we
can mobilize all of New York
City’s many communities and
respond to next year’s census
in record numbers.”
Community-based organizations
will be selected on the
basis of where and with whom
they already have a strong history
of working, ensuring that
awards will be prioritized to
those who serve communities
most at risk of being undercounted
in 2020. The organizations
are uniquely set up to
fight the spread of misinformation,
convey the importance of
the census, and help bridge the
digital divide that might prevent
New Yorkers from participating
in the 2020 census.
“Getting an accurate count
in the upcoming census is critical
for the future of our city,
since it determines how hundreds
of billions of federal dollars
are distributed for basic
services, including for hospitals,
schools, roads, affordable
housing, nutrition programs
and more,” Council Speaker
Corey Johnson said. “A complete
count will also send a
strong message to the Trump
administration, which is continually
attacking and trying
to withhold resources from our
diverse communities: We are
not invisible and we will not be
City makes $19 million investment in local community-based organizations
to bolster efforts towards an accurate count.
intimidated.”
A proper count is imperative
in that the census will determine
how much representation
the city has in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
“Census data affects the
very core of our democracy
and critical representation in
government,” Congresswoman
Photo via Shutterstock
Carolyn Maloney said.
The 2010 Census saw dramatic
undercounts in neighborhoods
with particularly high
immigrant populations such
as East Elmhurst and Jackson
Heights, where thousands were
overlooked.
“Our communities’ resources
and representation crucially
depend on it,” state Senator Jessica
Ramos said. “I urge New
Yorkers to join us in filling out
the census form, volunteering
to help our neighbors participate,
and applying for local jobs
on the census website in order
to ensure a full count.”
The City University of New
York is a key programmatic
partner in the effort and it will
train hundreds of students to
serve as culturally and linguistically
diverse ambassadors to
promote the census, educate fellow
students, faculty and staff
and play a key role in NYC Census’
field activities in targeted
communities.
“I cannot stress the importance
of education and organization
around the participation
of all our community members
in Census 2020, and we all must
band together to encourage all
New Yorkers to come out and
be counted,” Assemblywoman
Catalina Cruz said. “We cannot
allow Trump’s scare tactics to
devastate our communities any
longer.”
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