NYC Census 2020 Will Fund Efforts Across Entire System, with Priority Given to Approximately 90 Branches Serving Historically Undercounted Communities
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today that NYC Census 2020, the City’s first-of-its-kind census outreach and engagement campaign, is investing more than $1.4 million in an unprecedented partnership with New York City’s three public library systems – the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queens Public Library – to count every New Yorker in the upcoming 2020 Census.
Funding libraries to conduct census outreach and provide internet access will be a critical component of NYC Census 2020’s campaign to combat the fear and disinformation resulting from the specter of the now-defeated citizenship question, as well as bridge the digital divide that has left hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers without regular, reliable access to the internet.
The funding being announced today is one of the cornerstones of the City’s overall historic $40 million investment in census outreach, organizing, and public awareness, which includes a large community-based grants program, a field operation, as well as innovative, robust, and multi-lingual media and marketing efforts.
“New York City has been on the front lines of the resistance against the Trump Administration and ensuring every New Yorker gets counted is central to our fight,” said Mayor de Blasio. “We cannot let the federal government silence our diversity of voices. Our partnership with the public library system will help all New Yorkers stand up and be counted.”
“You might think we’ve come a long way since the three-fifths compromise, but when it comes to the Census, make no mistake: the Trump Administration thinks it’s 1820, not 2020. We’re not going to let them use this critically important civil rights exercise to erase us from the map, which is why every one of our major public institutions, from hospitals to housing, and to the 90 library branches serving our most undercounted neighborhoods will be leveraged to get every New Yorker counted next year,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives Phil Thompson.
"Our three library systems are the foundation of the City's cultural and civic ideals," said Vicki Been, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development. "For countless families, libraries serve as trusted sources for information, services, and programming. With this plan, we will encourage civic engagement and improve New Yorkers' access to the census and related resources."
The partnership between NYC Census 2020, led by Director Julie Menin, and the three public library systems, will enable libraries to expand and better leverage their existing capabilities to assist New Yorkers to complete the census form, which will be online for the first time. The funding will support activities across the three library systems, with priority given to the approximately 90 branches that serve historically undercounted communities.
“Our job is to get every New Yorker counted in next year’s census, and we’ll only be able to do our job by partnering with the libraries, which serve as among the most trusted voices in communities across the city. With this investment, together, we will combat the fear and disinformation about the census created by the Trump Administration, and also bridge the digital divide that could create barriers for New Yorkers to stand up and be counted in next year’s census, no matter where they live or what language they speak,” said NYC Census 2020 Director Julie Menin.
“The enormous success of IDNYC, one of the City of New York’s most successful public programs to date, would not have been possible without our close and extensive partnership with the city’s three library systems,” said Bitta Mostofi, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. “Libraries are central hubs to immigrant New Yorkers who rely on the library systems every single day to get access to critical services and programming, citizenship classes, and access to the internet, among so much else. We are proud to be partnering with NYC Census 2020 to fight the Trump Administration’s attempt to use the census as a tool to harm immigrant communities, and we look forward to working closely with our sister agencies, community-based organizations, and all of the city’s public institutions to ensure a fair and complete count in next year’s census.”
NYC Census 2020’s funding will cover:
· Technology: libraries will be able to significantly expand the ability for New Yorkers, especially those lacking internet access, to participate online in the census as a result of investments in laptops, tablets, and other similar technological solutions;
· Training and translations: the libraries’ front-line staff will be trained and equipped to help New Yorkers from all backgrounds gain access to information about the census, with a focus on priority branches;
· Operational support: extended library hours will be funded in priority neighborhoods to convene census-related activities, such as informational sessions and periods of time when New Yorkers can access the internet to participate in the census;
· Marketing: library-specific messaging will be created to reach local communities in dozens of languages, and to raise awareness about libraries’ role in the decennial census; and
· Personnel: civic engagement staff will be brought on to engage New Yorkers on the census and activate grassroots interest across the library systems.
By resourcing a large, trusted, citywide network of local institutions, the City is significantly expanding its capacity to ensure that all New Yorkers participate in the 2020 Census, which will help determine the allocation of more than $650 billion in federal funding, in addition to the apportionment of seats to states in the House of Representatives (and, thus, the Electoral College, as well).
Current population change estimates indicate that New York State could lose up to two congressional seats following the 2020 Census, making a complete and accurate count a top priority for the City, which has historically been significantly undercounted compared to the rest of the country. In 2010, New York City’s self-response rate to the census was just 61.9%, with the national self-response average being 76%.
“The City Council commends Mayor de Blasio and NYC Census 2020 for making this essential investment in libraries. New York City's three public libraries systems serve as trusted community anchors in every neighborhood. In our city where nearly 30 percent of the population lacks internet access, they will play an outsized role in bridging the digital divide to ensure that families who don’t have internet access at home, often in hard-to-count communities, can be counted in the 2020 Census. The Council’s 2020 Census Task Force and all our members look forward to partnering with libraries to ensure we get a complete count in 2020,” said Speaker Corey Johnson.
