With Census Deadline Around The Corner, BP Adams Announce Funding For Community Organizations To Make Brooklyn Count

Press release from the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President:

September 18 2020

Brooklyn, NY – Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams announced $493,216 in long-awaited state funding to support partnerships with community-based organizations to increase the count for the 2020 Census, especially in neighborhoods that currently have low response rates relative to the previous Census ten years ago.

With just under two weeks left before the enumeration ends, only 57 percent of Brooklyn’s households have responded to the Census as of September 15th — the lowest response rate of any borough in the city. Brooklyn is considered the hardest-to-count county in New York State. Roughly 80 percent of Brooklynites live in hard-to-count neighborhoods. making it critical that every effort be made to reach out to Brooklyn residents who haven’t responded to the Census. Ensuring a complete count is essential to make certain that Brooklyn and New York City as a whole receive their fair share of federal representation and resources for transportation, health care, education, and more.

“The future of Brooklyn and our city is on the line in this year’s Census. The twin economic and public health crises of COVID-19 have underscored the importance of making Brooklyn count so we can get the federal resources and political representation our borough needs to aid our recovery process. Brooklynites: if you haven’t yet filled out your Census form, you have until September 30th. It takes ten minutes, but the impacts will be felt for the next ten years. Let’s get this done,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

“Brooklyn’s nonprofit community–the most trusted Census messengers–fought hard for this funding and we are proud to help deploy this critical support to bolster their essential work in advance of the 2020 survey deadline,” said Brooklyn Community Foundation President and CEO Cecilia Clarke. “As founding members of the Brooklyn Complete Count Committee, we have long recognized that making Brooklyn count 100 percent in the 2020 Census is a matter of racial and social justice for our communities, to ensure that everyone gets the resources and representation they are owed. We are grateful to New York State for its investment in getting Brooklyn to the finish line.”

The Office of the Brooklyn Borough President is partnering with the Brooklyn Community Foundation and allocating funding to 20 sub-grantee nonprofits to conduct the following work to ensure Brooklyn is accurately counted in this year’s Census:

General advertising

• Creation and use of television, local radio, billboard or social media advertisements in several languages promoting the Census
• Creation and posting of other Census-related signage
• Print and digital advertising; public service announcements (PSAs); boosted social media postings

Targeted advertising

• Ad placements in ethnic press
• Production of newsletters and flyers for elderly populations
• Transit advertising program targeting new Americans and non-English speaking people
• Other multilingual outreach materials/media campaigns

Direct resident outreach

• Informational kiosks at strategic locations targeting hard to count populations
• Phone-banking and text-banking outreach operations
• Provide brochures / Census sign-up capabilities to food pantries
• Development of sharable, printed outreach materials (e.g., posters, flyers, multi-lingual palm cards)

The organizations acting as sub-grantees who will carry out this work in Kings County include the following organizations:

• 67 Precinct Clergy Council
• Apna Brooklyn Community Center, Inc.
• Arab-American Family Support Center
• Asian American Federation
• Bridge Street Development Corporation
• Brooklyn Community Services
• Brooklyn Public Library
• Churches United For Fair Housing
• East Flatbush Village, Inc.
• East New York Restoration Local Development Corporation
• Faith in New York
• Flatbush Development Corporation
• Grand Street Settlement, Inc.
• Haiti Cultural Exchange
• Mixteca Organization, Inc.
• Neighbors Allied for Good Growth dba North Brooklyn Neighbor
• St. Nicks Alliance
• The Campaign Against Hunger
• The New York Immigration Coalition, Inc.
• The New York Urban League

“We are very grateful for the funds we have received to support our ongoing Census Outreach activities. As we embark on the final push to Make Brooklyn Count 100 percent, the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, Inc. is calling all Houses of Worship to join our 10 blocks, 10 years initiative and help get all residents within 10 blocks of your House of Worship counted. An accurate count will help ensure the necessary resources for these communities,” said Omyma David, Census Manager, 67th Precinct Clergy Council, Inc.

“At just days from the 2020 Census count deadline, Mixteca Organization, Inc. continues to mobilize Census efforts to ensure that the Sunset Park and Brooklyn communities get counted. Mixteca has witnessed the injustices and disparities in our health, social and economic resources for communities of color, especially highlighted during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. Mixteca is partnering with local businesses, churches, and leading grassroots outreach efforts to educate the Latinx and Indigenous immigrant communities on the importance of the Census and assuring them that they are making a change in their community when getting counted. Being invisible in this country has been normalized for far too long, and it’s time to say enough!” said Community Organizer/ Census manager at Mixteca Organization Inc. Meyolotzin Abrajan.

“Let’s all take the 10-10-10 census challenge here in Brooklyn. Ten questions for 10 minutes that will impact the next 10 years of our lives. We need all to participate and be counted, but most of all we need accountability and that can’t happen without quantifiable representation. Let’s get counted Brooklyn. Let’s prepare and solve the problems of our future today,” said East Flatbush Village, Inc. Executive Director and Co-Founder Eric Waterman.

“Here at BCS, we fundamentally believe everyone deserves to have their voice heard and basic needs met. That’s why it’s so essential Brooklyn gets an accurate count in the Census; everything from COVID-19 relief to Congressional representation relies on Census results. Census funding allows BCS to use our existing presence in hard-to-count communities so everyone can be counted,” said Brooklyn Community Services (BCS) Director of External Relations and Advancement Kristina Reintamm.

“East New York community groups, tenant and block associations and Community Board 5 are working hard to get our community counted despite the severe underfunding for outreach. Additional resources are needed now,” said East New York Restoration Local Development Corporation (LDC) Executive Director Colette Pean.

To fill out the census visit my2020census.gov.

This press release was produced by the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President. The views expressed are the author's own.