NYC Census 2020 Announces Next Census Subway Series: Throgs Neck, The Bronx vs. Corona, Queens

New York — Today NYC Census 2020 announced the fourth contestants in the "NYC Census Subway Series", to mobilize New Yorkers to self-respond to the census immediately, following President Trump's move to cut the census short by one month. Julie Menin, NYC Census 2020 Director and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel, NYC Law Department, released the following statement:

"In NYC, there is no other force like the power of neighborhood pride, and the Census Subway Series has been a testament to that fact. Now, it’s time to find out whether the borough that’s home to the Bronx Bombers or the Amazin’ Mets will take the title of this week’s census champion. For the fourth week of our Census Subway Series, we’re excited to watch Throgs Neck, The Bronx (current self-response rate: 54.7%) face off with Corona, Queens (current self-response rate: 55.4%). New Yorkers know this is a competition for our future, and every neighborhood is going to continue to mobilize to the last minute for the money, power, and respect we deserve.”

The Census Subway Series is a weekly challenge taking place over five weeks in which two neighborhoods from different boroughs compete to see which one posts the largest gains in its census self-response rate over the week. The first two neighborhoods to compete were Jamaica, Queens (current self-response rate: 53.7%), and Canarsie, Brooklyn (current self-response rate: 51.8%). The victor of the first match was declared on Monday, August 31, with Jamaica just edging out Canarsie. Midwood, Brooklyn (current self-response rate: 58.2%) and the Upper East Side, Manhattan (current self-response rate: 52.2%) competed for bragging rights between Monday, August 31 and Sunday, September 6. The winner was declared on September 9, with Midwood triumphing with a massive gain of 1.9%. Brownsville, Brooklyn and Wakefield, The Bronx competed between Monday, September 7 and Sunday, September 13. The winner will be announced on September 16.

In addition to bragging rights, residents of the competing neighborhoods -- as well as any New Yorker who completes the census during the next five weeks -- may be eligible to win exciting prizes from Seamless, Lyft, and MoMA as part of the new NYC Counts census contest. Any New Yorker who completes the census between Monday, August 17 and Monday, September 21 can enter the contest to win one or more of the following prizes:

$1,000 gift card from Seamless (six total)
A $50 Lyft credit voucher and annual CitiBike membership (100 total)
An annual membership to The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1 (a $200 value; 25 total)

All New Yorkers must take a photo of their census completion confirmation page and upload it to the City's website to enter. Complete rules can be found at nyc.gov/censuscontest.

As of September 15, New York City's self-response rate is 59.6%, and the nation's is 65.9%.

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.