As the clock ticks towards the conclusion of the 2010 census, some local politicians are worried that they are running out of time.
April 16 marked the national deadline for census forms to be mailed in—cause for concern for many city officials who are noticing low New York City participation rates.
Every ten years, population counts from the census are used to decide allocation of congressional seats, government funding, and electoral votes. But mail-return rates in West Harlem and the Upper West Side remain behind the national average, despite extensive outreach efforts to encourage census participation. Now, some politicians are making a last-ditch effort to boost participation rates by calling for an extension of New York City’s census deadline.
Upper West Side Councilmember Gale Brewer and Brooklyn Councilmember Al Vann sent a letter to the U.S. Census Bureau requesting that the deadline for census forms to be mailed in be extended to mid-May. Brewer attributed the city’s low participation rate of 64 percent—compared to the national average of 69 percent—to the fact that it is densely populated, making it difficult to ensure that there is maximal participation. Furthermore, she said, five or six large buildings in her district did not receive census forms in the mail.
“I’m worried that other buildings didn’t get them also,” Brewer said. “They called it a geographic database problem—it apparently wasn’t the post office’s fault.”
For Brewer and other local politicians, the stakes are particularly high this year. The state will be losing at least one congressional seat due to population changes since 2000. The decennial census will determine which district will lose a seat, leaving those regions with lower participation rates at risk of having to relinquish some of their congressional representation. These vulnerable areas include parts of the Upper West Side and much of West Harlem, which comprise census tracts with participation rates trailing behind the national average by as much as 15 points.
But Brewer’s efforts may be in vain, according to some Census Bureau officials. Deadlines for the census are set months and years in advance, making it difficult for individuals to modify census protocol.
“I don’t think it’ll be possible—all of these different census operations are planned out way in advance, and the decision would have to come from at least a much higher level of government than my office,” New York Census Bureau media specialist Raul Vicente said.
U.S. Census Bureau media specialist Igor Alves said that as soon as one census is completed, planning for the next one begins. In light of this long-term planning, census benchmark dates are generally rigid.
“This basically involves nine years of planning, and our current procedure is what we’re operating on,” Alves said. “Operations are going to continue as scheduled.”
Still, census officials have said that not all hope is lost, as current mail-return rates do not accurately reflect the final count—there is still another step in the process which may lead to an increase in participation rates. If a citizen did not return the census form by April 16, a Census Bureau employee known as an enumerator will personally go to that person’s home for an interview and obtain the required information, starting on May 1.
But some worry that in immigrant-dense areas such as West Harlem—where many illegal immigrants worry that filling out the forms will disclose personal information that could lead to deportation—enumerators may not be effective.
“People can be told over and over that it’s [the census] only used for certain purposes, but people feel that the government is very intrusive in their lives,” Community Board 7 member Sheldon Fine said. “There are people who, legal or not legal, are uncomfortable answering the government’s questions.”
To address this issue, Brewer and others have pressed for U.S. Census representatives to allow residents themselves to administer the questionnaire to those in their neighborhood, rather than sending government employees to complete the task.
“It’s important to make sure that the enumerators really reflect the neighborhood,” Brewer said.
Sarah Darville contributed reporting.
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