ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT: NYC Census 2020 and Partners Convene Emergency Virtual Press Conference

Supreme Court ruling allows the Trump administration to end the 2020 Census on October 15

If NYC experiences an undercount, the City can potentially lose billions for COVID-19 relief and up to two seats in Congress and the Electoral College, which decides the Presidency

New York — At Noon on Wednesday, October 14, NYC Census 2020 and partners will host an emergency virtual press conference to raise awareness about the shortened census timeline and mobilize the community in a final sprint to respond to the census and encourage their neighbors, friends, and family to do so. The press conference is also a direct response to the Supreme Court’s shameful decision to allow President Trump to cut the 2020 Census count by two weeks, a move designed to depress responses among Black, Brown, and immigrant New Yorkers and rob New York City of billions for critical programs, as well as congressional representation and seats in the Electoral College for the next 10 years.

Currently (as of October 13), New York City has a self-response rate of 61.4 percent. NYC Census 2020 and its partners’ efforts have resulted in important progress for historically undercounted communities across the city, including:

A near matching of the 2010 initial return rate of 61.9%, despite COVID-19 outreach barriers
A closing self-response rate gap when compared to the nation (from approximately 14 percentage points in 2010 to approximately 5 percentage points in 2020)
Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island all ahead of their 2010 initial return rates
Significant improvements in self-response rates in Black communities across the city
NYC beat the U.S. Census Bureau’s pre-COVID estimate of 58% self-response by 3.4 percentage points
NYC’s self-response rate is ahead of Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Baltimore, New Orleans, Detroit, and many others

Members of the press must pre-register at the following link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIpf-igpjgoH9A3tKBKgBb28s5wgKie58Lf and confirm their attendance to Sona Rai at srai@census.nyc.gov and/or call (585) 530 - 7484.

What: An emergency virtual press conference to respond to the Supreme Court decision to allow the Trump administration to curtail the 2020 Census

Who:

Julie Menin, Director of NYC Census 2020 and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel, NYC Law Department
Meeta Anand, Census Senior Fellow, New York Immigration Coalition
Sheena Wright, President and Chief Executive Officer at United Way of New York City
Derek Perkinson, Field Director, National Action Network
Additional speakers will be added to the roster
Also in attendance for Q +A: Amit Bagga, Deputy Director, NYC Census 2020, and Kathleen Daniel, Field Director, NYC Census 2020

When: Wednesday, October 14
Virtual Press conference starts at Noon
Members of the press must pre-register at the following link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIpf-igpjgoH9A3tKBKgBb28s5wgKie58Lf and confirm their attendance to Sona Rai at srai@census.nyc.gov and/or call (585) 530 - 7484.

Why:

New York City is facing a census emergency: the 2020 Census has been curtailed by two weeks
Only 2 days left to respond; all communities must be mobilized to respond now.
There are no questions about citizenship or immigration on the census, and all answers are completely confidential and cannot be shared with anyone -- not immigration or tax authorities, and not with any law enforcement authorities or landlords.

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.