City launches complete count campaign for 2020 census
BY BILL PARRY
With just eight weeks until
New Yorkers can begin completing
the 2020 Census online,
Mayor Bill de Blasio joined
more than 160 community partners
that convened for a complete
count campaign kickoff
and release a campaign plan.
Advocates, service providers,
representatives from labor
and major civic institutions
are all part of the nation’s
largest and most diverse coordinated
municipal campaign
to achieve a complete and accurate
count.
“New York City has been
on the front lines of the resistance
against the Trump administration
and ensuring every
New Yorker gets counted is
central to that fight,” de Blasio
said. “Now matter how hard
the federal government tries
to silence our diverse voices,
we will still stand up and be
counted.”
The city will spend more
than $8 million on a media
and advertising campaign
representing the largest such
investment in a census campaign
to date.
“We have to get this right to
ensure we receive the proper
federal funding for our schools,
our roads, our health care, our
public housing and more,” City
Council Speaker Corey Johnson
said.” This is our once-ina
decade opportunity to show
the federal government that
we are here, and that we count.
The City Council pushed hard
to make sure we allocated $40
million in the current budget
for the efforts to count every
New Yorker, because every
New Yorker matters.”
The census campaign will
be advertising in 16 languages,
including several languages
spoken by New Yorkers with
high levels of limited proficiency
in English. A huge network
of more than 150 community
and immigrant organizations
will take part in the integrated
outreach program that will recruit
thousands of volunteers
citywide with the ultimate
goal of getting hundreds of
thousands of New Yorkers to
self-respond to the census, especially
in historically undercounted
communities.
“Ten years ago, we lost vital
federal dollars, services,
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.26 COM | JAN. 17-JAN. 23, 2020
and representatives because
of low Census returns in western
Queens,” City Councilman
Costa Constantinides said. “It
is crucial we make sure every
resident is counted this time
around, because every New
Yorker deserves fair representation
no matter one’s status.”
One immigrant organization
involved in the complete
count campaign is Make the
Road New York.
“As someone who lives in
Corona, one of the hardest
places to count, I know the
importance of the census,”
MRNY’s Alma Grande said.
“”I went to over-crowded
schools, and now I go to a hospital
that is not even in the
district because Corona does
not have a hospital. This year,
I will make sure my family
gets counted and that my community
gets counted because
I want to make sure my niece
and other kids in the area don’t
face the same circumstances
I did. Members of Make the
Road New York are excited to
partner with New York City
to make sure our voices are
heard in this process.”
In 2010, New York City’s
self-response rate was nearly
15 points less than the national
average and the U.S. Census
Bureau is currently estimating
that the New York area’s
self-response rate could be as
low as 58 percent in 2020.
“We are working diligently
on 2020 Census outreach here
in southeast Queens and the
Complete Count Campaign
will go a long way in empowering
our partners in this effort,”
City Councilman I. Daneek
Miller said. “Given the current
political climate, the need
for hyper-local, culturally-sensitive
outreach is greater than
ever. My colleagues and I are
pleased to be a part in this historic
investment which will
not only facilitate a complete
count, but will also strengthen
the relationship between diverse
community-based nonprofits
and city government.”
More than 150 community-based organizations helped launch the
city’s Complete Count Campaign for the 2020 census.
Courtesy of de Blasio’s offi ce
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