Team AOC Contributes to Strong Census Count in The Bronx, Queens

 

ICYMI: Team AOC Contributes to Strong Census Count in Bronx, Queens   In case you missed it, figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau yesterday showed a stronger than expected Census count in both The Bronx and Queens.  Among large counties, Queens exceeded the Bureau’s estimates more so than any other – overperforming expectations by 8 percent. The Bronx overperformed estimates by 5 percent.  Last year, Team AOC launched a seven-figure effort to encourage residents to complete the Census. In addition to funding multilingual mailers and advertisements in a district where well over 200 languages are spoken, the campaign’s organizing team mobilized volunteers for nearly 1,800 events to help 3,800 residents complete their Census. Overall, this helped direct an estimated $53 million in federal resources to the district, in addition to saving New York a congressional seat.    “Thank you to all the organizers and advocates across the city who worked tirelessly on our Census efforts last year. Local community organizers put in a ton of work in getting their communities accurately counted, “said Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in a tweet, where she also praised New York City for its Census effort.     ICYMI: Ocasio-Cortez Pushes for Census Participation:  CBS: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Launches Effort To Increase Census Participation In Queens, The Bronx “When we do not know that families exist, which is what happens when we get an undercount of the Census, we can’t fund schools, we can’t fund infrastructure, we don’t know where to put hospitals, and this results in the situation that we have in Corona, which is one of the most overcrowded school districts in the city,” Ocasio-Cortez said. The City: AOC Makes a Bronx Census Push Amid Fears of Lost House Seats “Our strategy is all about building trust in the community before the enumerators even come to your door,” Ocasio-Cortez told THE CITY. That trust is crucial in a district where 47% of residents are foreign born, and fear of taking part in an official government count is expected to be widespread. “There’s been an increased use of one’s immigration status as a form of intimidation,” she said. The Hill: Ocasio-Cortez calls for extending census period “My district, which is overwhelmingly working-class and one of the most diverse in the country, is also one of the districts hardest hit by the virus,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “This crisis has only underscored the need for an accurate count - so that resources can be appropriately and quickly distributed in an emergency. However, as things currently stand, those districts hit the hardest by COVID-19, those districts which already suffer greatest from structural racism and inequity, stand to be the most undercounted,” she added. NBC: AOC, Lin-Manuel Miranda urge New Yorkers to participate in the census In the ad, Ocasio-Cortez reminds New York City residents that the census is for everyone to fill out regardless of immigration status and that the information provided to the U.S. Census Bureau is protected by law and cannot be shared with anyone, including law enforcement agencies. "The census only comes once in every 10 years, and 2020 is our chance to get it right," Ocasio-Cortez says at the end of the PSA. NY1: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Makes Push for All New Yorkers to be Counted in 2020 Census "If our kids aren't counted and our families aren't counted, then our schools aren't going to get the teachers that they need,” Ocasio-Cortez said at the event. “Our infrastructure is not going to get the investment that it requires, including our transit infrastructure, our bridges, our roads, our hospitals. So we have to make sure that our response is completely overwhelming, that every single person is counted and that everyone gets the resources that they need."