With only 22 days left until the conclusion of the 2020 census, following President Trump’s move to cut it short by one month, on Tuesday, Sept. 8, NYC Census 2020 announced the third contestants in the “NYC Census Subway Series,” to mobilize New Yorkers to self-respond immediately. NYC Census 2020 Field Director Kathleen Daniel released the following statement about the series.

 

“Our Census Subway Series has unleashed the power of neighborhood pride in bringing out the census count, and we’re thrilled to bring the competition to the Boogie Down Bronx. For the third week of our Census Subway Series, we’re announcing a showdown between Brownsville, Brooklyn (current self-response rate: 55.2%) and Wakefield, The Bronx (current self-response rate: 50.7%). New Yorkers are neighborhood proud and neighborhood strong, and we’re all going to fight for our fair share of money, power, and respect, in every neighborhood.”

 

The Census Subway Series is a weekly challenge taking place over five weeks in which two neighborhoods from different boroughs will compete against each other to see which neighborhood posts the largest gains in its self-response rate over the week.

 

The first two neighborhoods to compete were Jamaica, Queens (current self-response rate: 52.5%), and Canarsie, Brooklyn (current self-response rate: 50.2%). The victor of the first match was declared on Monday, August 31, with Jamaica just edging out Canarsie. Midwood, Brooklyn (current self-response rate: 56.7%) and the Upper East Side, Manhattan (current self-response rate: 50.8%) competed for bragging rights between Monday, August 31 and Sunday, September 6. The winner in the Midwood and Upper East Side match-up will be declared on September 9. Brownsville, Brooklyn and Wakefield,

 

The Bronx will compete between Monday, September 7 and Sunday, September 13. In addition to bragging rights, residents of the competing neighborhoods – as well as any New Yorker who completes the census during the next five weeks – may be eligible to win exciting prizes from Seamless, Lyft, and MoMA as part of the new NYC Counts census contest. Any New Yorker who completes the census between Monday, August 17 and Monday, September 21 can enter the contest to win one or more of the following prizes:

 

• $1,000 gift card from Seamless (six total)
• A $50 Lyft credit voucher and annual CitiBike membership (100 total)
• An annual membership to The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1 (a $200 value; 25 total)

 

All New Yorkers must take a photo of their census completion confirmation page and upload it to the City’s website to enter. Complete rules can be found at nyc.gov/censuscontest.

 

As of Sept. 4, New York City’s self-response rate was 58.5%, and the nation’s was 65.3%. As of Sept. 11, there are just 19 days left to complete the census. As reported on Aug. 31 by Norwood News, the response rate for Norwood and its surrounding areas was below average also.

 

The census is easy, safe, and confidential. It consists of ten simple questions that take less than ten minutes to complete. All New Yorkers can easily self-respond now online at my2020census.gov or by phone at 1-844-330-2020. The census does not ask about immigration, citizenship, criminal history, or income. By law, all census responses are completely confidential and cannot be shared with anyone, including any immigration authorities, tax authorities, any law enforcement authorities, or even landlords. The penalties for breaking this law, Title XIII of the U.S. Code, are up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. This law has not been broken since it was passed in 1953.

 

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.