Census week of action kicks off in Richmond Hill

Young people urge their peers to fill out the 2020 Census. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

By David Brand

Queens leaders will rally in Richmond Hill Monday to kick off a week of events urging borough residents to complete their census forms.

The events specifically target Queens’ “hard-to-count” communities — particularly immigrant neighborhoods and communities of color where the census completion rate has lagged behind the city average. In parts of Richmond Hill, the response rate is less than 40 percent, according to CUNY’s Hard to Count Mapping project, which plots response rates for every census tract in the United States.

Queens’ overall response rate was 53.8 percent as of July 23, compared to 60 percent in 2010. The New York state response rate is 57.9 percent and the nationwide rate is 62.3 percent.

COMPLETE THE 2020 CENSUS ONLINE

The census is conducted every 10 years and counts every person living in the United States and five U.S. territories. Census responses determine the allocation of billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities for schools, infrastructure and other public services. The results are also used to determine state-by-state Congressional representation, which means an undercount can force New York to forfeit seats in Congress and miss out on vital funding

For the first time, all Americans can complete their census forms online. 

Councilmembers Adrienne Adams and Karen Koslowitz, U.S. Census Director Jeff Taylor, Assemblymember David Weprin and members of Queens Community Boards 9 and 10 will join various nonprofit organizations at the event to encourage census completion.