I know that if you’re reading this you have probably already filled out your Census 2010 form and sent it in, but if you haven’t you should get on it, and if you know other residents who haven’t, then you should definitely encourage them to complete the form and mail it before the deadline. The 2000 Census response rate in Bed-Stuy averaged less than 40%, compared to 55% for New York City overall. The Coalition for the Improvement of Bedford-Stuyvesant (CIBS) wants Bed-Stuy to be heard and to be counted in the 2010 Census, and they are committed to spreading the Census message by mobilizing residents of Bed-Stuy around the importance of achieving a complete count in 2010. So fill it out (it only takes 5 minutes!) and send it in!
The participation rates for our area are scary…
Everyone needs to make sure they are counted!!!
As of March 31st:
Nat’l Average 52%
NY State 46%
NYC 37%
Staten Island 43%
Mnhtn 42%
Bronx 37%
Queens 36%
Brooklyn 32%
I’m walking out w/ my dog and dropping the form off at the mailbox. My one gripe is that the ‘Spanish’ descent boxes are a headache..as a Filipino, I know I have “some” blood up in that mix and didn’t know whether I should mark it. And what do those of Spanish descent check off in the race box? WHITE!? I find that odd…
Mailed mine in last week after carrying it around in my bag for a few days. Yeah, the race and ethnicity questions are a headache for a lot of people. How much is enough to check off?
@Stuy Girl: Those numbers are a horror story. What irks me is that people complain about not getting their fair share from the gov’t, but they won’t fill out the papers to get that share.
Yes! Bed-Stuy has to fill out the papers however we self-idenify…
@ Vettievette – labels do make a difference, because census results are used to redraw congressional districts with racial and ethnic balance… I was told that we should either check more that one race categories or write in “multiracial,” depending on how we self-identify.