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Richmond Hill Census Caravan: Neighborhood Push to Raise 2020 Census Response, Which Stands at Just Over 50%

Event features a press conference at a local Gurudwara (Sikh temple), pop-up questionnaire assistance centers, and a caravan with music, dancing, and mobile census questionnaire assistance.

NEW YORK, N.Y. – City officials, U.S. Census Bureau representatives, and community leaders will gather in Richmond Hill, Queens on September 20 for a press conference, a census caravan, and pop-up census assistance centers to mobilize Punjabi and Indo-Caribbean communities to complete the 2020 Census. Remarks will be given in Punjabi, Hindi, and English.

Richmond Hill Census Caravan
Sunday, September 20
Baba Makhan Shah Lubana Sikh Center
113-10 101st Ave (corner of 114th Street)
South Richmond Hill, NY 11419

Headlining Entities:

NYC Census 2020 (Mayor’s Office of the Census): Deputy Director Amit S. Bagga      
United States Census Bureau: Harpreet Singh Toor, Partnership Specialist
Chhaya CDC: Annetta Seecharran, Executive Director
Caribbean Equality Project: Mohamed Amin, Founder
DRUM: Anshu Khadk, Community Organizer
Sadhana: A Coalition of Progressive Hindus
United Sikhs

Multiple additional elected officials to participate.

1:00 PM: Press Conference

  • What: Press conference to launch the caravan and urge the Richmond Hill community to be counted
  • Who: NYC Census 2020 and the U.S. Census Bureau, in addition to several city and state elected officials, as well as co-host organizations
  • Where: Baba Makhan Shah Lubana Sikh Center 113-10 101st Ave South Richmond Hill 11419
  • Contact: Sona Rai, srai@census.nyc.gov, 585-530-7484

1:30 PM: Richmond Hill Census Caravan

  • What: A coalition embarks on a census caravan throughout Richmond Hill, with music, dancing, and street canvassing
  • Who: Staff and volunteers from NYC Census 2020, Complete Count Fund awardees, and offices of elected officials
  • Where: Start at Lefferts Blvd and Liberty Ave, proceeding down Liberty to 123rd St.
  • Contact: NYC Census 2020: Sona Rai, srai@census.nyc.gov, 585-530-7484

As of September 18, Richmond Hill’s self-response rate is nearly 10 percentage points behind that of the rest of New York City’s, which has now broken 60%. While New York City’s current self-response rate represents a significant closure of the gap between New York City and the nation as compared to 2010, (5.9 percentage points now vs. 14 percentage points in 2010), many communities in New York City are still lagging, and Sunday’s events are part of a two-week intensive, major haul to ensure all New Yorkers are counted.

About NYC Census 2020

NYC Census 2020 is a first-of-its-kind organizing initiative established by Mayor de Blasio in January 2019 to ensure a complete and accurate count of all New Yorkers in the 2020 Census. The $40 million program is built on four pillars: (1) a $19 million community-based awards program, The New York City Complete Count Fund, empowering 157 community-based organizations to engage historically undercounted communities around the 2020 Census; (2) an in-house “Get Out the Count” field campaign supported by the smart use of cutting-edge data and organizing technology, and a volunteer organizing program to promote a complete count in each of the city’s 245 neighborhoods; (3) an innovative, multilingual, tailored messaging and marketing campaign, including a $3 million commitment to investing in community and ethnic media to reach every New York City community; as well as (4) an in-depth Agency and Partnerships engagement plan that seeks to leverage the power of the City’s 350,000-strong workforce and the city's major institutions, including libraries, hospitals, faith-based communities, cultural institutions, higher educational institutions, and more, to communicate with New Yorkers about the critical importance of census participation. Through close partnerships with trusted leaders and organizations across the five boroughs, this unprecedented campaign represents the largest municipal investment in census organizing nationwide and will build an enduring structure that empowers New Yorkers to remain civically engaged.