COUNTDOWN to CENSUS 2010: Corzine, Bloomberg Lead Efforts to ‘Get out the Count’ in NJ and NYC

News from the New York Regional Census Center Spring/Summer 2009 Vol. 1, No. 1

the decennial COUNTDOWN TO CENSUS 2010: Corzine, Bloomberg lead efforts to ‘Get Out the Count’ in NJ and NYC

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg are both leading efforts to ensure a complete and accurate count in 2010. More than $300 billion is distributed annually to states and communities based on population data.

On April 1, 2009, Corzine kicked off the Garden State’s 2010 Census pro- motional campaign during a press conference held at the Statehouse in Trenton, NJ. The New Jersey State Data Center created the slogan “NJ’s Counting on You” to help raise awareness about the importance of the 2010 Census.

L.-R. David Socolow, Commissioner, NJ Department of Labor and The event marked the one-year countdown to Census Day, April 1, 2010. Workforce; Mayor Randy Brown of Evesham, NJ; Lester A. Farthing, New York Regional Director, U.S. Census Bureau (at podium); “Municipal leaders understand the importance of the census,” said Corzine. Mayor Timothy McDonough of Hope, NJ; and Governor Jon Corzine. “We encourage them to engage civic, community and faith-based organizations to reach out to their constituencies to provide grass-roots support for a complete count in New Jersey.”

On the other side of the Hudson River, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the establishment of the NYC 2010 Census Office during a well-attended 2010 Census Kick-Off at the Queens Borough Li- brary held on April 7, 2009.

Headed by the newly-appointed Stacey Cumberbatch, the City Census Of- fice will work closely with the New York Regional Census Center to coordi- nate efforts among city agencies, community organizations, cultural institu- tions, faith-based organizations, labor unions, immigrant advocacy groups and others.

In light of the current economy, Bloomberg also noted the importance of L.-R. Stacey Cumberbatch, City Census Coordinator; Guillermo filling out the questionnaire to ensure that funding levels are maximized. Linares, Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs; Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Ricardo Morales, Chairman, NYC Housing Authority; “We are kicking off a new effort to get the message out that there is nothing Lester Farthing, NY Regional Director, U.S. Census Bureau; and to fear from filling out a census questionnaire, and that we need every New Raul Vicente, Jr., Senior Media Specialist, New York Regional Census Center. York City resident counted,” Bloomberg said.

Page 2 . . . Message from the Regional Director Page 3 . . . Photo Gallery Page 6 . . . Kids Corner, Address Canvassing, Mt. Zion Hosts Census Forum Page 7 . . . Census Timeline, Partnership Goes Live

inside Page 8 . . . Newark Kick-Off, Upcoming Events Message from the Regional Director

The Census Bureau’s national theme, “It’s In Our Hands,” is a call to every person living in the United States to play a key role in this once-in-a- lifetime opportunity to be counted in the upcoming 2010 Census.

I am pleased to report that the New York Regional Census Center is shaping up on schedule. New York Regional

Census Center 330 West 34th Street, 13th Floor On board, we have a diverse, dedicated and tal- New York, NY 10001 ented team of Managers, Partnership and Data 212.356.3100 Services Specialists (PDS), Geographers, Recruit- ers, IT and Administrative staff working in sync to Decennial 2010 is published complete our early census operations. Thanks to the PDS staff, we are gaining new part- by the NYRCC Media Office. ners everyday and inviting past partners to work with us again.

Lester A. Farthing Inside this newsletter, you will see examples of our tremendous community outreach Regional Director work being conducted throughout the region.

Ligia Jaquez From our one-year-out kick-offs and local public forums to our highly visible presence at Deputy Regional Director community-based events, we are doing all we can to ensure a complete and accurate count in 2010. Partnership Coordinators Geraldine Clark As we forge ahead, let us stay on point with our key messages — The 2010 Census: It’s Rafael Dominguez Easy, It’s Safe and It’s Important. Reva Sears

Raul Vicente, Jr. Lester A. Farthing Senior Media Specialist/Publisher New York Regional Director

Yolanda Finley Media Specialist/Editor

Consuelo Jackson about the new york region Graphic Specialist/Designer The New York Region includes all five boroughs in New York City — Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, — Nassau, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester

counties in New York and Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, If you would like to contribute to the Sussex, Union, and Warren counties in New Jersey. Decennial 2010 newsletter, please contact the editor at [email protected].

If you would like to become a 2010 Census Partner or to receive general information on the 2010 Census, please contact our office at 212.356.3100 or check out New York www.2010census.gov.

New Jersey

2010 CENSUS IT’S IN OUR HANDS

Page 2 PHOTO GALLERY

The Partnership and Data Services Team is on the move — from Middlesex County, NJ to Suffolk County, NY and everywhere in between!

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Connection Committee representatives at their North Atlantic Regional Conference with NYRCC Staff.

At the podium during the Suffolk County Kick-Off, Deputy Director Ligia Jaquez is shown with (L.-R.) Akie Naito, President, Asian Pacific American Association of Long Island; County Executive Steve Levy; Nayyar Iman, President, Islamic Association of Long Island; Patricia Valle, Assistant Regional Census Manager; Partnership Coordinator Rafael Dominguez; and PDS Staff.

Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz, Superintendent John Rodecker and students from Dr. Herbert D. Richardson 21st Century School.

Standing in the center of the Jamaican Flag is Nickel Ashmeade, one of Ja- maica’s World Junior Champions, with Team Jamaica Bickle at the Penn Relay Carnival held in Philadelphia, PA. On the far left is Jamaican native Irwine Clare, Team Leader, New York Region, U.S. Census Bureau. Brooklyn Asian Complete Count Committee Kick-Off led by Paul Mak, Executive Director, Brooklyn Chinese-American Association. Page 3 PHOTO GALLERY

The Korean Complete Count Committee of Queens gets pumped up for Census 2010. Senior Partnership Specialist Jose Acosta with an onlooker at the Colombian Day Parade in Elizabeth, NJ.

Partnership Administrative Specialist (third from left) Chanée Williams and Side Kick the Clown at the Haitian Flag Partnership Coordinator Geraldine Clark (kneeling) with attendees of the BET Day Parade in Elizabeth, NJ. Foundation’s Women’s Health Symposium at Essex County College in Newark, NJ.

Senior Partnership Specialist Carmen Perez prepares to deliver the Census 2010 message on the popular Flor- ence Rice NY cable program which airs on Manhattan Neighborhood Net- work, MNN. Rice, 90, is a longtime community activist and founder of the Harlem Consumer Education Council.

Page 4 PHOTO GALLERY

Partnership Specialist Jakyoung Kim demon- strates how to trace your hand during the Summer Literacy Festival hosted by the YWCA of Queens.

Students from Bank Street Head Start in Manhattan celebrate May Day wearing their Census 2010 stickers.

L.-R. Senior Partnership Specialist Jose Aguiling, Partnership Coordinator Reva Sears and Naomi McElynn, President, Westfield Area Chamber of Commerce, at the Westfield, NJ Economic Sum- mit. Aguiling is holding a proclamation declaring April 17, 2009 as L.-R. Media Specialist Veronica Lavarro, George Graham, Vice Census Day in Westfield, NJ. President, Sussex County League of Municipalities, and Partnership Coordinator Geraldine Clark.

A group of senior citizens in Clark, NJ have their census count in the bag. Partnership Specialists Lauren Zyriek and Jonathan Gromer with an “Earth Day” participant at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ. Page 5 Address canvassing nearly complete

The Census Bureau is ahead of schedule toward the completion of its massive operation to verify and update more than 145 million addresses in preparation for the 2010 Cen- sus. Originally planned to run until the end of July 2009, the decennial’s first major under- taking will be wrapping up in June.

Nationwide, more than 140,000 census workers participated in the address canvassing operation, a critically important first step in KidsCorner assuring that every housing unit receives a census questionnaire in March 2010.

Census in Schools In the New York Region, a committed group of employees were hired to canvass their communities. website goes live! On the church steps, Reverend Gilford Monrose is shown with his son Addresswelcoming canvassers participants can be identifiedto the forum. Printed materials will be by their official Census Bureau identifi- “Our main objective is to identify every living delivered to K-8 principals cation badges. They are also equipped quarters and possible living quarters in order with hand-heldMt. Zion computers Church to update ofto ensureGod that 7th a form Day gets to every house- addresses. beginning in August 2009 hold,” says William M. Harfmann, a 20-year hosts 2010 Census veteranforum of the Census Bureau, who serves as The U.S. Census Bureau is proud to pre- Area Manager for Queens, Long Island, West- sent 2010 Census: It’s about us, a free chester and Rockland counties. interactive education program packed with on and off-line lessons, worksheets, and classroom resources.

The purpose of the program is to provide Mt. Zion hosts students K-12 with information about the importance of the 2010 Census with the census forum hope that they will share this information th with the adults in their household. The Mt. Zion Church of God 7 Day in the East Flatbush section of With units leveled for students in grades Brooklyn recently hosted a 2010 K-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-12, the 2010 Census public forum. Census program will provide teachers with lessons that meet core standards Organized by the pastor, Reverend and feature fun, skill-building activities in Gilford T. Monrose, Deanna Bitetti, map literacy, graphing, reading, writing District Representative for Con- On the church steps, Rev. Monrose is shown and civic responsibility. gresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, (D- with his son and several forum participants. th NY 11 ), and Maria Matos, Partner- Every school in the U.S., Puerto Rico, ship Specialist, NY Regional Census Center, the forum was designed to raise aware- and the Island areas can have online ness about the importance of filling out the questionnaire and mailing it back in April access to materials, and everyone will 2010. receive K-8 English and Spanish take Monrose emphasized that the community should respond to get its fair share of fund- home materials. ing and representation. He stressed the confidentiality of the respondent’s answers,

explaining Title 13, the law which protects this information. Participants will be asked to pick any week between February and April 2010 He was joined at the forum by speakers Lester A. Farthing, New York Regional Direc- and designate it to teaching about the tor, U.S. Census Bureau, District Representative Bitetti, residents and church mem- census. bers. Check out www.census.gov/schools for interactive games, quizzes, coloring Working in Partnership with the Bureau, Mt. Zion Church will serve intermittently as a pages, state facts and more! testing site for census jobs, and will also serve as a Be Counted Site and Question- naire Assistance Center. Page 6 Partnership goes live — in Spanish CCC’s key to The 2010 Partnership and Data Census 2010 Services Team has carried the 2010 Census message over the airwaves and into millions of As the countdown continues toward homes in the New York Region’s a nationwide count of every person Latino communities. in America, the Census Bureau views Complete Count Committees Senior Partnership Specialist as important vehicles for planning Jose Acosta has made his and implementing local, targeted rounds, spending time in the stu- efforts to include everyone in the dio with talk show host Victor community in the 2010 Census. Condo Esquivel of Long Island- based Ecuamerica Internet Radio A Complete Count Committee, or and TV host Malin Falu on Dia- CCC, is a team of volunteer mem- logo, which is aired on the Brook- bers appointed by the highest- lyn-based HITN-TV. HITN elected official or assembled by com- reaches 30 million Hispanic Jose Acosta and Victor Condo Esquivel munity leaders to increase aware- households annually. ness about the census and to moti- vate residents to respond. “There is great pride in bringing vital cen- CCCs come in different types and sus information to my sizes, depending on how they are community,” says organized and where they are lo- Acosta who was born cated. CCCs can include a cross- in Ecuador and came section of community representatives to the United States from government agencies, educa- 47 years ago. This is tion, business, faith-based organiza- Acosta’s second de- tions, community groups and the cennial, having media. served on the Part- nership and Data Community leaders also are the best Services team in suited to mobilize local resources in 2000. the most efficient and cost-effective manner. In April, Ligia Jaquez, Deputy Director Ligia Jaquez and Telemundo’s Luis Medina. Deputy Regional It’s up to you! You know the best Director, also appeared on public affairs and news programs for both the number one and way to reach your community. If you number two Spanish language television networks, UniVision and Telemundo. are interested in forming a CCC, please call 212.356.3100. “The response from the media has been fantastic,” says Jaquez. “We are pleased that the media has taken our message to their audiences, allowing our team to deliver quality information that encourages participation in the 2010 Census.”

2010 CENSUS TIMELINE APR ‘09 - JUN ‘09

Address canvassing conducted Census workers canvass all census blocks, updating address/map information

MAR ‘10 APR ‘10

United States Postal Service delivers Census questionnaires to households Census Day recognized on April 1, 2010!

APR ‘10 - JUN ‘10 DEC ‘10

Non-Response Follow Up U.S. population totals are due Census workers visit households that do not mail back a census questionnaire to the President Show state populations and number of U.S. House of Representatives seats apportioned to each state.

Page 7 City of Newark prepares to “Stand Up and Be Counted” UPCOMING EVENTS in the 2010 Census NEW YORK NEW JERSEY

June 13 June 6 Philippine Independence African American Day Celebration Heritage Parade Newark Mayor Cory New York, NY Montclair, NJ Booker on the steps of City Hall. He is flanked by (L. June 14 June 8-14 to R.) Carlos Valen- tin, Executive Di- Puerto Rican Day Parade Newark Essex Pride Week rector, Aspira, Sen- New York, NY Newark, NJ ior Media Specialist Raul Vicente, Jr., NYRCC, and Earl Multicultural Street Fair Best, Founder and June 13-14 CEO of Street War- Suffern, NY Portugal Day Festival riors, Inc. Newark, NJ June 20 Caribbean Heritage Month June 15 During a 2010 Census Complete Count Committee New York, NY community event on the steps of Newark City Hall this McDonald’s past May, Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker’s message Gospel Festival was as clear as the weather: The clock has begun. June 27 Newark, NJ Int’l Immigrants Parade “We need to get involved now,” said Booker. “We need New York, NY June 27 to take on this challenge and get every resident counted in the 2010 Census.” Egyptian Festival June 28 Jersey City, NJ Mayor Booker was joined by members of the Newark Pride Heritage Parade Municipal Council, city, county and state dignitaries, New York, NY June 28 Newark clergy, community leaders, residents and repre- Philippine Parade sentatives of the New York Regional Census Center. July 26 Jersey City, NJ “The City of Newark is proud to be a key member of the Dominican Parade Complete Count Committee,” said North Ward Council- Bronx, NY July 12 man Anibal Ramos. Latino Festival

Colombia Independence Jersey City, NJ Emphasizing that personal information received from the census questionnaire – which will be the shortest in Day Festival the Census Bureau’s history – is kept confidential by Queens, NY July 22 law, the Mayor urged residents to stand up for more Chalk Fest opportunities for the community. August 2 Jersey City, NJ

Ecuadorian Parade “Newark, like many municipalities throughout the state, is facing challenging economic times. The stimulus Queens, NY money and federal aid our city receives to support our schools, infrastructures and overall city program is If you would like to invite us to participate based on our population count,” said Booker. “I urge all in your event, please call 212.356.3100. of Newark’s residents to stand up and be counted.”

“We want residents to know that the 2010 Census is easy, safe, and important,” added Raul Vicente, Jr., Senior Media Specialist, New York Regional Census U S C E N S U S B U R E A U Center. Helping You Make Informed Decisions

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