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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 147-10
April 7, 2010

MAYOR BLOOMBERG DETAILS NEIGHBORHOOD BY NEIGHBORHOOD 2010 CENSUS RESPONSE RATES IN FINAL PUSH TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION

Mayor Urges Community News Outlets to Help Carry the Message of the Importance of the Census to the Communities they Cover

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, City Census Coordinator Stacey Cumberbatch, U.S. Census Bureau Regional Director Tony Farthing and Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Fatima Shama today continued the City’s efforts to get a full and accurate count of all New Yorkers in the 2010 Census by briefing a collection of the City’s community media organizations on the neighborhood by neighborhood response rates to the census, and urging community news outlets to implore their readers, listeners or viewers to return census forms before the April 15th deadline. This morning, the Mayor continued his census radio tour, urging New Yorkers, in multiple languages, to return census forms. As of today, only 48 percent of 2010 Census forms have been returned by City households, compared to 62 percent nationwide. At the briefing with community media outlets, the Mayor provided the response rate for every neighborhood in New York City and highlighted the neighborhoods where census response rates remain low. The City’s Census Office, a new entity created by the Mayor to support Federal efforts, has formed local partnerships across the five boroughs with community organizations, cultural and educational institutions, faith-based organizations, immigrant advocacy groups and others to spread the word that all New Yorkers have something to gain and nothing to fear by filling out the census form, as all information is kept confidential, in accordance with Federal law. The Mayor was joined at the briefing in the Blue Room of City Hall by some of the City’s census partners, including Juana Ponce De Leon of the New York Community Media Alliance, Norman Eng of the New York Immigration Coalition, Imam Souleimane Konate of Masjid AQSA Mosque and the Council of African Imams, Inc., Andy Yu of the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn, Martha Chavez of New Immigrant Community Empowerment, George Hulse of the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Esmeralda Simmons of Medgar Evers Center for Law and Social Change, Kian Brown of the Southern Queens Park Association and Ali Najmi of the Seva Immigration Community Advocacy Project.

“We’re entering the stretch run and fewer than half of New York City households have returned their census forms,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “A low response rate could have very serious consequences for our city – for each person who is not counted in the census, the City loses about $3,000 in Federal aid every year, money that could be spent on services our communities all want and need.”

The New York City response rate as of today, by county, is as follows:

  • Bronx County – 50 percent
  • Kings County – 42 percent
  • New York County – 54 percent
  • Queens County – 47 percent
  • Richmond County – 52 percent

The census response rates for all New York City neighborhoods are as follows:

Borough and Neighborhood April 6, 2010
Bronx: Allerton - Pelham Gardens 42.9
Bronx: Bedford Pk - Fordham North 51.1
Bronx: Belmont 45.2
Bronx: Bronxdale 48.9
Bronx: Claremont-Bathgate 51.4
Bronx: Co-Op City 54.3
Bronx: Crotona Park East 52.0
Bronx: East Concourse-Concourse Village 51.7
Bronx: East Tremont 52.1
Bronx: Eastchester-Edenwald-Baychester 40.0
Bronx: Fordham South 50.0
Bronx: Highbridge 54.0
Bronx: Hunts Point 52.6
Bronx: Kingsbridge Heights 55.6
Bronx: Longwood 53.3
Bronx: Melrose South-Mott Haven North 55.9
Bronx: Morrisania-Melrose 52.1
Bronx: Mott Haven-Port Morris 54.0
Bronx: Mount Hope 49.6
Bronx: NorthRiverdale-Fieldston-Riverdale 57.5
Bronx: Norwood 49.3
Bronx: Parkchester 54.3
Bronx: Pelham Bay-CountryClubCityIsland 47.2
Bronx: Pelham Parkway 50.2
Bronx: Schuylerville-Throgs Neck-Edgewater Park 45.5
Bronx: Soundview-Bruckner 47.6
Bronx: Soundview-Castle Hill-Clason Point-Harding Point 52.3
Bronx: Spuyten Duyvil-Kingsbridge 57.5
Bronx: University Heights-Morris Heights 52.8
Bronx: Van Cortlandt Village 55.5
Bronx: Van Nest-Morris Park-Westchester Square 44.0
Bronx: West Concourse 55.1
Bronx: West Farms-Bronx River 47.1
Bronx: Westchester-Unionport 44.2
Bronx: Williamsbridge-Olinville 37.3
Bronx: Woodlawn-Wakefield 36.5
Brooklyn: Bath Beach 44.4
Brooklyn: Bay Ridge 48.8
Brooklyn: Bedford 33.8
Brooklyn: Bensonhurst East 42.7
Brooklyn: Bensonhurst West 43.2
Brooklyn: Borough Park 35.5
Brooklyn: Brighton Beach 43.0
Brooklyn: Brooklyn Heights-Cobble 59.3
Brooklyn: Brownsville 42.7
Brooklyn: Bushwick North 39.2
Brooklyn: Bushwick South 40.2
Brooklyn: Canarsie 34.1
Brooklyn: Carroll Gardens-Columbia-Red Hook 51.0
Brooklyn: Clinton Hill 42.2
Brooklyn: Crown Heights North 36.7
Brooklyn: Crown Heights South 39.7
Brooklyn: Cypress Hills - City Line 36.5
Brooklyn: Dumbo-Vinegar Hill-Downtown BrooklynBoerum Hill 51.5
Brooklyn: Dyker Heights 42.9
Brooklyn: East Flatbush-Farragut 34.9
Brooklyn: East New York (part A) 37.9
Brooklyn: East Williamsburg 48.4
Brooklyn: Erasmus 33.4
Brooklyn: Flatbush 41.1
Brooklyn: Flatlands 36.7
Brooklyn: Fort Greene 45.8
Brooklyn: Georgetown-Marine Park-Bergen BeachMill Basin 43.7
Brooklyn: Gravesend 48.1
Brooklyn: Greenpoint 40.9
Brooklyn: Homecrest 39.5
Brooklyn: Kensington-Ocean Parkway 45.3
Brooklyn: Madison 45.6
Brooklyn: Midwood 46.0
Brooklyn: North Side-South Side 42.9
Brooklyn: Ocean Hill 35.3
Brooklyn: Ocean Parkway South 40.0
Brooklyn: Park Slope - Gowanus 50.5
Brooklyn: Prospect Heights 50.7
Brooklyn: Prospect Lefferts Gardens-Wingate 39.3
Brooklyn: Rugby - Remsen Village 33.0
Brooklyn: Seagate-Coney Island 48.0
Brooklyn: Sheepshead Bay-Gerritsen Beach-Manhattan Beach 48.0
Brooklyn: Starrett City 59.0
Brooklyn: Stuyvesant Heights 33.6
Brooklyn: Sunset Park East 39.6
Brooklyn: Sunset Park West 45.4
Brooklyn: West Brighton 53.3
Brooklyn: Williamsburg 31.3
Brooklyn: Windsor Terrace 54.3
Manhattan: BatteryParkCity-LowerManhattan 47.6
Manhattan: Central Harlem North-Polo Grounds 47.9
Manhattan: Central Harlem South 46.3
Manhattan: Chinatown 52.6
Manhattan: Clinton 53.3
Manhattan: East Harlem North 54.9
Manhattan: East Harlem South 55.2
Manhattan: East Village 50.7
Manhattan: Gramercy 54.3
Manhattan: Hamilton Heights 52.6
Manhattan: Hudson Yards-Chelsea-Flat Iron-Union Square 53.5
Manhattan: Lenox Hill - Roosevelt Island 52.5
Manhattan: Lincoln Square 53.8
Manhattan: Lower East Side 57.3
Manhattan: Manhattanville 57.0
Manhattan: Marble Hill-Inwood 62.4
Manhattan: Midtown -Midtown South 41.8
Manhattan: Morningside Heights 57.9
Manhattan: Murray Hill-Kips Bay 52.5
Manhattan: SoHo-Tribeca-Civic Center-Little Italy 49.1
Manhattan: Stuyvesant Town-Cooper Village 62.4
Manhattan: Turtle Bay -East Midtown 49.4
Manhattan: Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill 52.0
Manhattan: Upper West Side 60.2
Manhattan: Washington Heights North 62.5
Manhattan: Washington Heights South 61.6
Manhattan: West Village 51.5
Manhattan: Yorkville 56.6
Queens: Astoria 48.2
Queens: Auburndale 54.4
Queens: Baisley Park 37.5
Queens: Bayside - Bayside Hills 55.1
Queens: Bellerose 54.6
Queens: Breezy Point-Belle Harbor-Rockaway Park-Broach Channel 44.1
Queens: Briarwood-Jamaica Hills 45.6
Queens: Cambria Heights 43.7
Queens: College Point 44.9
Queens: Corona 43.2
Queens: Douglas Manor-DouglastonLittle Neck 61.8
Queens: East Elmhurst 40.8
Queens: East Flushing 46.3
Queens: Elmhurst 47.7
Queens: Elmhurst - Maspeth 44.2
Queens: Far Rockaway-Bayswater 42.6
Queens: Flushing 49.7
Queens: Forest Hills 56.8
Queens: Fresh Meadows - Utopia 58.6
Queens: Ft. Totten-Bay Terrace-Clearview 62.9
Queens: Glen Oaks-Floral Park-New Hyde Park 61.4
Queens: Glendale 45.4
Queens: Hammels-Arverne-Edgemere 42.3
Queens: Hollis 36.4
Queens: Hunters Point-Sunnyside-West Maspeth 51.9
Queens: Jackson Heights 52.5
Queens: Jamaica 43.4
Queens: Jamaica Estates-Holliswood 51.0
Queens: Kew Gardens 51.7
Queens: Kew Gardens Hills 51.9
Queens: Laurelton 40.9
Queens: Lindenwood-Howard Beach 52.1
Queens: Maspeth 41.9
Queens: Middle Village 48.0
Queens: Murray Hill 50.6
Queens: North Corona 39.0
Queens: Oakland Gardens 62.4
Queens: Old Astoria 45.9
Queens: Ozone Park 43.2
Queens: Pomonok-Flushings Heights-Hillcrest 50.5
Queens: Queens Village 41.2
Queens: Queensboro Hill 44.0
Queens: Queensbridge-Ravenswood-Long Island City 50.4
Queens: Rego Park 51.8
Queens: Richmond Hill 36.0
Queens: Ridgewood 38.3
Queens: Rosedale 36.8
Queens: South Jamaica 36.8
Queens: South Ozone Park 33.0
Queens: Springfield Gardens North 47.9
Queens: Springfield Gardens South-Brookville 35.9
Queens: St. Albans 38.2
Queens: Steinway 44.2
Queens: Whitestone 53.7
Queens: Woodhaven 43.3
Queens: Woodside 51.1
Staten Island: Annadale-Huguent-PrincesBy-Eltingvl 53.9
Staten Island: Arden Heights 56.8
Staten Island: Charleston-Richmond Valley-Tottenville 49.4
Staten Island: Grasmere-Arrochar-Ft. Wadsworth 53.2
Staten Island: Great Kills 56.5
Staten Island: GrymesHill-Clifton-FoxHills 48.7
Staten Island: Mariner's Harbor-Arlington-Port Ivory-Graniteville 45.7
Staten Island: New Brighton-Silver Lake 51.0
Staten Island: New Dorp-Midland Beach 52.1
Staten Island: New Springville-Bloomfield-Travis 53.1
Staten Island: Oakwood-Oakwood Beach 59.4
Staten Island: OldTown-DonganHills-SouthBeach 51.8
Staten Island: Port Richmond 48.7
Staten Island: Rossville-Woodrow 53.2
Staten Island: Stapleton-Rosebank 46.0
Staten Island: Todt Hill-Emerson Hill-Heartland Village-Lighthouse Hill 53.6
Staten Island: West New Brighton-New Brighton-St. George 43.6
Staten Island: Westerleigh 58.6

New Yorkers that need assistance filling out a census form can call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov to receive assistance in multiple languages or be directed to one of nearly 1,300 Questionnaire Assistance Centers, operated by the U.S. Census Bureau, open at locations around the city to provide assistance in multiple languages.

More than $25 billion of annual Federal funds are distributed to New York City based on the decennial census, including funding for schools, counter-terrorism and security efforts, and social service organizations. The City will lose approximately $3,000 a year in Federal funding for every New Yorkers that is not counted in the census. Elected representation at the federal and state levels also is determined by census data. In the 2000 Census, the response rate in New York City was 55 percent, well below the national average of 67 percent. In many neighborhoods, like Downtown Flushing, Central Brooklyn or South Jamaica, the response rate was below 40 percent.

The City’s Census Office has been working with community organizations, cultural and educational institutions, faith-based organizations, labor unions, immigrant advocacy groups and others, utilizing each group’s existing networks to distribute information about the census. The key component of the City’s efforts has been informing the public that under federal law, the personal information collected by the census is entirely confidential and cannot be shared with any federal, state, or city agency.

The City’s Census Office has provided thousands of posters and brochures in several languages for display at City offices and conducted workshops with resident associations at New York City Housing Authority facilities, where response rates have been historically low. Working with NYC & Company, the City’s Census Office has also placed 2010 Census bus shelter ads in many hard-to-count neighborhoods throughout the City.   

City schools are being encouraged to utilize a “Census in Schools” curriculum, which offers educators an easy way to incorporate information about the census into their lesson plans and teaches students the importance of the census. Additionally, City schools sent a letter to go home with every student last week encouraging parents to fill out their census form and explaining the importance of ensuring every New Yorker is counted.

The City’s census efforts also have included working with the U.S. Census New York Regional Office to identify properties that were not a part of the national mailing list. The Department of City Planning has identified more than 127,000 apartments or homes – nearly 4 percent of all the housing units in the city, counting for approximately 300,000 residents – that were not a part of the planned census form mailing list. Those homes will now be receiving the census form.

The census response rate in New York City has traditionally lagged well behind the national average. The low response rate in the City is due to a combination of factors, including the large population of immigrants, who may have privacy concerns, a fear or mistrust of government or face language barriers.

New York City has the highest percentage of “hard-to-count” residents of any city in the nation. The Census Bureau’s research has identified three main factors that make people “hard to-count”:

  • Being economically disadvantaged;
  • Being unattached or mobile, which includes renters and single men and women; and
  • Living in high density areas.

New York City’s “hard-to-count” demographic profile also includes: 

  • More than 3 million foreign-born residents, with one-fifth (approximately 600,000 people) arriving since 2000;
  • The largest Chinese population of any city outside of Asia;
  • More people of Caribbean ancestry than in any city outside of the Caribbean;
  • More than 2.27 million Hispanics, more than any other city in the United States;
  • Nearly 2 million residents of African descent, which is more than double the amount in any other U.S. city – communities with high populations of residents of African descent historically have had low census response rates; and
  • Residents speaking more than 200 languages, with almost half of all New Yorkers speaking a language other than English at home.

Since the year 2000, New York City’s population has increased by 4.8 percent.  The City’s population stands at 8,392,881 according the July 2009 U.S. Census Bureau estimate.







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