U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Census Bureau – New York Regional Census Center
330 W. 34th Street, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10001
Tel: (212) 356-3100 Fax: (212) 971-8991
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Media Department
Thursday, April 2, 2010 212-356-3100
CENSUS TO NY/NJ: MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AT STAKE
Communities that do not mail back 2010 Census forms
risk losing vital federal funds each year for the next ten years
New York, NY – Communities in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area are at risk of losing millions of dollars in federal funds every year for the next ten years because they are not mailing back their 2010 Census forms. “April 1 is Census Day, but it is not a deadline,” said Lester A. Farthing, the U.S. Census Bureau’s New York Regional Director. “If you have not mailed back your form, it’s not too late. Fill it out and mail it back today to help your community get its fair share of the more than $400 billion distributed by the federal government each year.” Completed forms can be returned up until the third week of April. After that, enumerators will be visiting households who still have not mailed their forms past the third week of April.
The current national participation rate is 54%, but areas in New York and New Jersey have rates well below the national average and leaders should be worried. The Census Bureau is calling on partner organizations, trusted voices and local elected officials to rally their communities and help get the word out: If you are not counted, your community will lose important and federal funding for education, health care and essential community services. Mailing back the forms also saves money. Every percentage point increase in mail participation saves approximately $85 million in federal funds.
New Jersey participation rates are drastically low in Belleville, East Orange, Elizabeth, Englewood, Irvington, Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick, Orange, Passaic, Paterson and South Montclair, the Eastern section of Hackensack. Communities north of Jersey City in Hudson County are also seriously behind in their mail backs.
In New York, rates are dramatically down in Yonkers, Westchester and the City of Mt. Vernon and in New York City, particularly in the neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Canarsie, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, East New York, Flatbush, and Sunset Park in Brooklyn; Corona, Elmhurst, Far Rockaway, Flushing, Hollis, Jamaica, Long Island City, Queens Village, Richmond Hill, South Ozone, Sunnyside and Woodside in Queens; Castle Hill, Hunts Point, Morrisania, West Farms, Wakefield and Williamsbridge in the Bronx; and Central Harlem in Manhattan. If residents in these communities don’t step up to the plate the losses to this region will be astronomical.
Questions about the form can be answered by calling the Telephone Questionnaire Assistance (TQA) toll-free line, which can respond in the following languages: English (1-866-872-6868), Spanish (1-866-928-2010), Chinese (1-866-935-2010), Vietnamese (1-866-945-2010), Korean (1-866-955-2010) and Russian (1-866-965-2010). Forms are available in those languages as well. In addition, Questionnaire Assistance Centers, which can be found by going to 2010census.gov, provide assistance in 59 languages.
Replacement forms are being mailed to targeted areas from April 1-10. After April 12, households that have not received a form may call the TQA numbers above to request a form. Those who feel they were not counted can also pick up a form at Be Counted sites, which are open until April 19 and can be found by going to 2010census.gov.
Communities can track their 2010 Census participation rates on the interactive “Take 10” map on 2010census.gov/2010census/take10map.
About the 2010 Census
The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution to be conducted every 10 years. Census data are used to apportion congressional seats to states; to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to local, state, and tribal governments each year; and to make decisions about what community services to provide. The 2010 Census form will be one of the shortest in U.S. history and consists of just 10 questions, taking about 10 minutes to complete. Strict confidentiality laws protect the respondents and the information they provide.
2010 CENSUS TIMELINE OF OPERATIONS
March 2010 – December 2010
March 19 – April 19: Opening of Be Counted Sites / Questionnaire Assistance Centers in select neighborhood locations to provide extra forms and help to those who need it, as well as the nationwide Telephone Assistance Center.
March 22-24: Mailing of reminder postcards.
March 29-31: Service-based enumeration - census workers count homeless people at shelters, soup kitchens/food vans, and selected outdoor locations.
April 1-10: Second mailing of 2010 Census form to many homes that have not returned first one.
April 1, 2010: Official Census Day. Group Quarters enumeration begins.
May 1: Launch of Non-Response Follow-up operations - census workers visit households that have not mailed back their census form.
July 24: Launch of Vacant Delete Check operations.
August 6: Launch of Field Verification operations.
Dec. 31, 2010: Reporting of Census data to the President of the United States.
2010 CENSUS LINKS
Main Page: http://www.2010census.gov
‘Take 10’ and Be Counted/QAC Map: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/
NY Regional Website: http://www.census.gov/regions/new_york
Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, more): http://2010.census.gov/2010census/involved/index.php
NY Regional Facebook ID: New York Regional Census Office
2010 Census Logos: http://2010.census.gov/partners/census-logos/
Multimedia Center: http://2010.census.gov/mediacenter/index.php
Images, b-roll and other tools: http://mediadownload.census.gov/
Local data: http://www.census.gov
For data from the 2000 Census and American Community Survey enter the specific city or zip code into the “Population Finder” on the right-hand side.
2010 Census Mail Participation Rates for the New York and New Jersey Region as of April 2, 2010.
