Richmond Hill rallygoers urge neighbors to complete the Census
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Dozens of community members attended a Census rally in Richmond Hill Monday. Photo courtesy of Adams/Twitter
By Rachel Vick
Dozens of elected officials and local leaders gathered in a Richmond Hill park Monday to kick off the city’s Census Week of Action, a series of events and activities urging New Yorkers to complete their forms and get counted.
Councilmember Adrienne Adams hosted the event inside Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto Park, where she was joined by members of the NYC Census team and community members committed to mobilizing participation among South Asian residents.
Richmond Hill has a 44 percent response rate — far lower than Queens’ overall response rate of 53.8 percent and the state response rate of 57.9 percent. Both lag behind the nationwide rate of 62.3 percent.
“We here in District 28 carry the lowest response rate for the Census in the entire city, so what this day is about — what this week is about — is to push,” Adams said. “To push our neighbors, to push our families, to push our friends to register and partake in Census 2020.”
Some communities in Richmond Hill and elsewhere in Southeast Queens are considered “hard to count” by the city because of language gaps and a lack of outreach to immigrants.
Census responses determine the distribution of billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities for schools, infrastructure and other services. The results are also used to determine state-by-state Congressional representation, An undercount could mean New York forfeits seats in Congress and misses out on vital funding
Overall, 61.9 percent of New York households self-responded to the 2010 census, compared to a nationwide average of 75.8 percent, according to federal data.
Event speakers sought to dispel fear and mistrust around the Census, particularly among residents concerned about immigration status or government spying. Acting Borough President Sharon Lee said the Trump Administration’s attempts to “weaponize” the Census to drive down census participation and scare non citizens are “proof of how powerful the Census is.”
Even a one percent undercount in a borough with more than 2.3 million people could cost upwards of $70 million in funding each year, Lee said.
Community representatives, like Aminta Kilawan-Narine, the founder and executive director of the South Queens Women’s March, underscored the direct impact census completion has on local resources.
“Do you ever wonder why we have fewer garbage bins, why our roads take longer to build, why our schools don't have as many resources, why hospitals don't?” Kilawan-Narine said. “It’s because [the] government is not aware of just how many of us there are in our community.”
“We need to do better for ourselves,” she added. “This is a competition for resources and unfortunately not everyone can win, and so we need to make sure that our communities win in this competition.”
For the first time, the census can be completed entirely online by visiting 2020census.gov. The online form takes less than 10 minutes to fill out and submit.
