New York City congresswoman helps Lower East
Side residents fill out census to ‘Make NY Count’
BY FANNI FRANKL
Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney
joined Lower East Side District
Leader Daisy Paez and the U.S.
Census Bureau at Grand Street Guild this
week to help residents fi ll out their Census
forms.
New York State continues to trail behind
in the national Census self-response rate,
a pattern that could cause hundreds of
thousands of dollars of missed funding.
As of this week, only 54.9% of New York
City responded to the Census and 59.3%
of New York State. If there is just a 1%
undercount in the 2020 Census, NY-12
residents could lose $430,000 in federal
funding for schools that have a high proportion
of low-income students. Additionally,
New Yorkers could sacrifi ce $320,000
in federal funding for job training centers
and career counseling.
Because of the critical nature of the
Census and its effect on New York City
funding, Rep. Maloney urged New Yorkers
to fi ll out the form, especially during
the pandemic.
“In the midst of a public health crisis,
Chairwoman of the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee
Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) leads a hearing about coronavirus preparedness and
response on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 12, 2020.
a global economic downturn, and attacks
from the Trump Administration – a full
and accurate Census count is in jeopardy,”
said Rep. Maloney. “The Census determines
the federal funding New York City
will receive for the next decade. Our city
has record low Census response rates, and
PHOTO BY REUTERS/JOSHUA ROBERTS
it is essential that every New Yorker fi lls
out their form as we re-build in the wake
of COVID-19.”
More than $1.5 trillion in federal funding
is distributed based on Census data
in 316 different community programs. In
the 2010 Census, 16 million people were
not counted. As a result, Rep. Maloney,
Chair of the Committee on Oversight
and Reform, responded to the Trump
administration memorandum seeking to
remove undocumented immigrants from
the 2020 Census apportionment count.
Rep. Maloney has since been against this
memorandum, seeing it as unconstitutional
as more people will then be left out of the
Census in the United States.
Rep. Maloney requested transcribed
interviews with eight senior Census Bureau
offi cials regarding the memorandum, but
was declined.
The Trump administration holds onto
their belief that the memorandum upholds
the constitution by “excluding illegal aliens
from the apportionment base” stating that
“persons of the state” as written in the
Constitution, only refers to individuals
with “lawful immigration status” in the
United States.
Even so, Rep. Maloney continues to fi ght
against this memorandum as well as emphasizes
the importance of fi lling out the
census through mail, calling 844-330-2020
or going online at https://my2020census.
gov/.
Victorian Gardens in Central Park will not reopen
this year — and may close down for good
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
Central Park’s Victorian
Gardens Amusement
Park, which pops up at
Wollman Rink every summer,
will not reopen for its 2020 season
and might close forever.
“This year has been an
incredibly diffi cult one for communities
all over New York City
with the health risks resulting
from the COVID-19 pandemic
and the socio-economic fallout
from related governmental executive
orders,” wrote Central
Amusement International Inc.
in a press release. “While Vicky
and Victor and our entire Victorian
Gardens team miss seeing
everyone smiling, giggling, and
having fun in our amusement
park, our number one priority
is the health and safety of our
community, guests, and team
members.”
Central Amusement International,
Inc., an amusement park
company owned by the Zamperla
family, said they were prepared
open the park with new COVID
19 protocols during Phase 4
of the state’s reopening plan. But
amusement parks were left off
the list of safe outdoor businesses
allowed to reopen once the last
stage of reopening reached New
York City.
“This year has been an incredibly
diffi cult one for communities
all over New York City with the
health risks resulting from the
COVID-19 pandemic and the
socio-economic fallout from
related governmental executive
orders,” the press release adds.”
While Vicky and Victor and our
entire Victorian Gardens team
miss seeing everyone smiling,
giggling, and having fun in our
amusement park, our number one
priority is the health and safety of
our community, guests, and team
members.”
“Our commitment to safety
has always been fundamental to
our growth and success in creating
fond memories for all of our
guests at Victorian Gardens and
it continues to drive our decision
making. “
PHOTO VIA WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Schneps Media August 20, 2020 3
/my2020census
/my2020census
