FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 13, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 13
oped letters & comments
Six weeks remain
to make New York
City count in the
2020 Census
BY JULIE MENIN
Listen up, NYC. Th e
next six weeks will
defi ne the next 10 years.
Th e 2020 Census is
set to end on Sept. 30,
which gives us just a few
weeks left to be counted.
And right now, almost
half of our city is in danger
of being left out. If these New Yorkers aren’t
counted, it will cost our communities hundreds
of billions of dollars in funding we need and
deserve over the next decade. As we recover from
COVID-19, we will need all the aid we can get.
Let’s break the numbers down.
Right now, NYC has a census response rate of
just about 55 percent, trailing the national average
by nearly 10 points. 1.7 million NYC households
are at risk of going undercounted, which would
mean New York could only get half of our fair
share of the $1.5 trillion in federal funding distributed
according to the census count every year.
Not only that, but we could also lose two representatives
in Congress, weakening our voice in
government at a moment when we need it most.
And now, we only have six weeks left to get our
numbers up.
We’re facing a critical moment in our history,
and the census will shape the direction we
take. Th e funding we need for our schools, for
our aff ordable housing, for our health system and
emergency services, senior centers, and so much
more all depend on the census. In fact, when a
COVID-19 vaccine is developed, the census will
help determine how those vaccines are distributed
to communities across the country.
We cannot aff ord an undercount.
Every single New Yorker counts, regardless of
age or immigration status, and we need every single
one counted to make sure we get the resources
and representation we deserve.
Th e 2020 Census is only 10 questions and takes
less than 10 minutes to complete. Fill out the 2020
Census now at my2020census.gov or call any of the
phone numbers below to complete the questionnaire
over the phone with a Census Bureau representative.
You can fi ll it out online or over the phone
in 13 languages — all you need is your address.
Time is running out fast. Make sure that you are
not counted out.
English: 844-330-2020
Spanish: 844-468-2020
Chinese (Mandarin): 844-391-2020
Chinese (Cantonese): 844-398-2020
Vietnamese: 844-461-2020
Korean: 844-392-2020
Russian: 844-417-2020
Arabic: 844-416-2020
Tagalog: 844-478-2020
Polish: 844-479-2020
French: 844-494-2020
Haitian Creole: 844-477-2020
Portuguese: 844-474-2020
Japanese: 844-460-2020
Julie Menin is Director of NYC Census 2020
and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel,
NYC Law Department.
LIVING IN AMERICA’S
‘TWILIGHT ZONE’
I have fi nally come to the realization
that everything is about to
change. No matter what I say, how I
vote, something evil has invaded our
nation, and our lives are never going
to be the same.
I am confused by the hostility of
family and friends. I look at people I
have known all my life so fi lled with
hate that they will agree with opinions
that, if they were in their right
minds, they would never express as
their own.
I think we have entered a Twilight
Zone where it is un-American for
the census to count how many
Americans are in our country;
Russians infl uencing our elections is
bad, but having illegal aliens voting
is good; $5 billion for border security
is too expensive, but $1.5 trillion
for “free” health care is not; people
who claim there is no such thing
as”gender” demand Joe Biden select
a female candidate for vice president;
and there is a growing number
of people who think that people who
have never owned slaves should pay
slavery reparations to people who
have never been slaves.
Th e great ship Titanic America has
hit an iceberg. Pointing out hypocrisy
does not make anyone racist. I
beseech those who hate President
Trump to consider what is at stake
in the next election: our history, our
way of life and our future.
Ed Konecnik, Flushing
OUR SENIOR CITIZENS
NEED HELP
It’s been very hot lately and it has
been a challenge going back and
forth from work and to the stores,
especially during the COVID-19
pandemic. But think about this: Our
elderly have it even harder.
Please check on your elderly neighbors
who maybe don’t have family or
anybody close by to check on them.
My wife and I are senior citizens ourselves,
but are a little better off than
some. We have a few neighbors we
know who are elderly — we call them
to see how they are doing and try to
visit with them.
Also, any extra food we have we
have, we give to them, being that
they may not always be able to get
out and shop for themselves. So,
please check on your elderly neighbors
and see what you can do to help
them.
Additionally, we are in the middle
of the hurricane and tropical storm
season, a time when our elderly
neighbors need our help. Remember
many of our seniors are on fi xed
incomes and may not be able to buy
the food they need to stay healthy.
You can also help them to get
in touch with the Get Food NYC,
which delivers meals to struggling
New Yorkers.
So, please do what you can for our
senior citizens during this pandemic
and hurricane season.
Frederick R. Bedell, Bellerose
A VIEW FROM CUNNINGHAM PARK // PHOTO SUBMITTED BY JAVIER FOJO
Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! To submit them to us, tag @qnsgram on Instagram, visit
our Facebook page, tweet @QNS or email editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps).
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