Census 'Flash Mob' To Storm Times Square Wednesday

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN — Still need to get counted? Good news: the U.S. Census Bureau will be conducting a live, in-person count in Times Square Wednesday, encouraging the tens of thousands of pedestrians who still pass through the area to fill out their forms before it's too late.

Workers from the Census Bureau will be at Duffy Square — the northern area of Times Square — between 12 and 2 p.m. Wednesday. They can help attendees fill out the 2020 Census on a tablet or on their own device, while following social distancing protocols.

As an extra enticement, a troupe of 100 performers will take part in a choreographed flash mob dance around 1 p.m. — also wearing face coverings and maintaining social distance. The performance, organized by the Association for a Better New York, will "serve as a tribute to a still active and exciting New York City," ABNY said in a news release.

About 90,000 pedestrians still pass through Times Square each day, despite the pandemic, ABNY said.

Officials have raised alarms about low self-response rates so far for the Census, which has a Sept. 30 deadline. New York state's self-response rate is 63.1 percent, the seventh-lowest of any state. The 12th congressional district, which includes Times Square, has an even lower rate, at just 59.2 percent.

The census helps determine the amount of federal funding that New York will receive for services like schools and hospitals, as well as how much representation the state gets in Congress. A census undercount could cause a community to receive a lesser share of aid from the federal government, and less representation in Congress.