Public Employee Press

Be sure you are counted
2010 Census means big bucks for NYC

New Yorkers still have time to be counted in the 2010 Census if they haven’t already filled out their questionnaires.

By participating in the count, residents make sure the city gets its fair share of the $400 billion the federal government distributes based on population. The federal funds are used for infrastructure and services like hospitals, senior centers, job training centers and public works projects.

The census is also critical for New York City’s political power, since the count is used to apportion seats in Congress and the state Legislature.

“I can’t stress enough the importance of participating in the 2010 Census,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. “If you are not counted, your community will lose important federal funding for education, health care and essential community services.”

So far, New York is lagging significantly behind the national participation rate, which is 54 percent. Return rates have been low in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Flatbush, Canarsie and Sunset Park. In Queens, the Jamaica, Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park and Flushing communities are also drastically low. Participation has also been low in various neighborhoods in the Bronx and Manhattan.

Losses to these communities could be astronomical if residents don’t take action to be counted.

Households that have not completed and returned their forms during April will be visited at home by census enumerators.

“If you have not mailed back your form, it’s not too late,” said Lester A. Farthing, the U.S. Census Bureau’s New York regional director. Forms can be downloaded from www.2010census.gov. Mailing back the form also saves money. Every percentage point increase in mail participation saves approximately $85 million in federal funds.

The Census Bureau has Questionnaire Assistance Centers, which provide assistance in 59 languages. The following toll-free lines offer help: 866-872-6868 (English), 866-928-2010 (Spanish) and 866-935-2010 (Chinese).