NYC: Cenus Shortchanged Us

[jimmy olsen]

Instead of just crying that it's impossible, how about they bring out some paperwork to back up their case? Birth, death, tax records etc.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/03/27/new.york.census.challenge/

New York City to dispute census numbers
By Leigh Remizowski, CNN
March 28, 2011 -- Updated 0319 GMT (1119 HKT)

New York (CNN) -- City officials will formally challenge the Census Bureau's data for New York City, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg said understated the number of residents in Brooklyn and Queens and overstated the number of vacant housing units in the city.

Although New York was named the most populous city in the country with 8,175,133 residents, its meager 2.1% increase since 2000's census count left many elected officials skeptical that every New Yorker was accounted for.

The Census Bureau reported that Brooklyn's population increased by just 1.6% and Queens grew by just 0.1%, gaining only 1,300 people since 2000.

"That can't be possible," Bloomberg said at a news conference in Queens Sunday, where he announced his intent to dispute the results.

As evidence of this so-called undercount, Bloomberg cited census reports of an increase in vacant housing units and a decrease in population in neighborhoods such as Astoria and Jackson Heights, Queens -- both known for their diverse immigrant communities.

"Everything we know about these neighborhoods tells a different story," he said. "They are vibrant, vital communities. People who have tried to find apartments in these neighborhoods can confirm there just isn't an abundance of vacancies."

Bloomberg suggested that empty housing numbers were "implausibly high" because Census Bureau workers marked homes as vacant if they were unable to contact residents.

Getting an accurate count in densely populated areas is tough for the Census Bureau, and New York especially so. In Queens, more than 140 languages are spoken in the public school system.

But the stakes are high. If the city is successful in its challenge of the census numbers, it could affect the amount of federal aid the city receives.

Census projections of New York City's population released last year estimated that the city was home to about 8.4 million people -- which Bloomberg pointed out amounts to a 225,000-person discrepancy with the current numbers.

The mayor wasn't the only elected official to complain. Sen. Chuck Schumer, a Democrat and resident of Brooklyn, also got in on the act.

"The Census Bureau has never known how to count urban populations and needs to go back to the drawing board," he said in a statement. "It strains credulity to believe that New York City has grown by only 167,000 people over the last decade. To claim that growth over the last decade in Brooklyn was 1.6% and growth in Queens was .1% flies in the face of reality."

[Faeelin]

It sounds like the city is doing just that, Tim.

[DGuller]

Personally, I'm proud to have contributed -1 to the NYC population count.

[garbon]

It sounds like the city is doing just that, Tim.

Tim doesn't read the articles he posts.

[jimmy olsen]

It sounds like the city is doing just that, Tim.

Tim doesn't read the articles he posts.

I read it, it doesn't say anything like that.
Saying

"Everything we know about these neighborhoods tells a different story," he said. "They are vibrant, vital communities. People who have tried to find apartments in these neighborhoods can confirm there just isn't an abundance of vacancies."

doesn't equate to breaking out the records. They may do that in the future, but they haven't yet, at least according to the article.

[garbon]

The first sentence states that they will formally challenge and presumably a formal challenge has to provide evidence.

[DGuller]

I can't imagine how NYC can keep growing in the long term.  Its cost of living is astronomical, even in the outer boroughs.  The taxes, between federal, state, local, and sales, are enormous.  The quality of life is likewise questionable at best.  Without Wall Street siphoning wealth off from the rest of the world, the city would be deep in the dumps.

[Josquius]

If you were an illegal immigrant would you fill in a big 'here I am!' form for the government?

[Brazen]

Does cenus rhyme with penis?

[CountDeMoney]

You spelled "census" wrong, you malignant mogrel.

[Ed Anger]

You spelled "census" wrong, you malignant mogrel.

[garbon]

Personally, I'm proud to have contributed -1 to the NYC population count.

Thanks for providing me a spot!

[garbon]

I can't imagine how NYC can keep growing in the long term.  Its cost of living is astronomical, even in the outer boroughs.  The taxes, between federal, state, local, and sales, are enormous.  The quality of life is likewise questionable at best.  Without Wall Street siphoning wealth off from the rest of the world, the city would be deep in the dumps.

Prices in the outer borough (well specifically Brooklyn) don't seem out of whack in comparison to other expensive cities in the US.  And I think that many people move to New York specifically for the lifestyle/QoL that it offers.

[KRonn]

Massachusetts has to give up a House seat due to the new census. Our legislators are scrambling around, trying to figure how/where to redistrict, losing a Federal Representative. Should be entertaining stuff. I predict this to go poorly, with more Federal indictments in the future.    

Our last three Speakers of the House have come under indictment or have been found guilty, one of them for redistricting issues. 

[Scipio]

Damn you Cenus!  Damn you!