Two Queens Council Districts have city’s highest census response rates
/
The deadline for the 2020 U.S. Census is Sept. 30. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
By David Brand
With the 2020 Census deadline fast approaching, residents of two Queens council districts have responded at a higher rate than all but one other district in the city. Still, a third of households in those communities have yet to submit their forms.
Residents of Northeast Queens’ Council District 23 are tied with Northern Manhattan’s District 10 for the city’s highest response rate, at 68 percent. Central Queens’ District 29 ranks third at 66 percent.
The citywide self-response rate is 58 percent, according to weekly reports compiled by the city’s census team. Statewide it’s 62 percent, and the national rate is 65.5 percent as of Sept. 9.
The clock is ticking for New Yorkers to complete their census (the process takes less than 10 minutes and can be completed here).
The Trump Administration moved the deadline to complete the census to Sept 30, a month earlier than originally scheduled. A federal judge in California has ordered the Census Bureau to continue counting U.S. residents until Oct. 31, however.
CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE 2020 U.S. CENSUS (IT ONLY TAKES A FEW MINUTES)
Population data gleaned from the U.S. Census determines federal funding and congressional apportionment. An undercount means New York could lose out on billions of dollars and up to two House seats.
District 23 Councilmember Barry Grodenchik praised his constituents for filling out their forms in the once-a-decade count and called on the remaining 32 percent to do the same before it’s too late. The district includes Bayside Hills, Bellerose, Douglaston, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Hollis, Hollis Hills, Holliswood, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, Oakland Gardens, and Queens Village.
“An accurate count is critical to the future of our city, so I have been encouraging participation in the 2020 Census across the community since last fall,” Grodenchik said. “I am so pleased to see strong results.”
Response rates vary across Queens, with Western Queens Districts 25 and 26 both registering 62 percent participation — good for 10th and 11th highest response rate in the city.
On the other hand, barely half of households in Southeast Queens’ District 28 and in District 21, which includes Corona and Elmhurst, have responded.
In most cases, the districts with the highest proportion of “hard to count” populations — low-income, non-English speaking and immigrant families — have among the lowest response rates in the city.
The seven districts with the lowest response rates — including 28 and 21 — each have “hard to count” rates of 84 percent or above.
Brooklyn’s District 40 contrasts that trend, however. The district includes Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush and Kensington and has the city’s highest hard-to-count rate at 95 percent, but a 14th-best Census response rate of 61 percent.
