NYC Census Response Stands At 61 Percent Amid Deadline Dispute

NEW YORK CITY — A bigger slice of $1.5 trillion pie could be headed to New York City than other big cities.

The city’s Census response rate stands at 61.4 percent, officials said Tuesday.

It lags behind the national rate of roughly 66 percent, but stands as more than Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Baltimore, Miami, Atlanta and Dallas, said Julie Menin, the city’s Census director.

“We are fighting for our fair share of $1.5 trillion — funding for our public schools, public housing, senior centers, Medicaid, health care, so much more,” Menin said.

And the clock could be over for New Yorkers to fill out their Census forms. The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to temporarily halt the count as a dispute over its Oct. 31 deadline plays out in a lower court, the New York Times reported.

The Trump administration previously moved the Census count deadline from Oct. 31 to Sept. 30 — a move decried by advocates who argued it would snarl the count already facing challenges from the coronavirus pandemic. A pair of court decisions effectively reinstated the Oct. 31 deadline but those are in question after Supreme Court allowed an administration appeal to move forward, which temporarily halted the count at a point it would be difficult to restart.

New York City’s response rate is far ahead of 2010, when it ended 14 points behind the national average, Menin said.