Albany, New York – Today, Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, Chair of the Assembly Task Force on Demographics and Reapportionment, was joined by good government groups, anti-poverty advocates and other legislators to unveil legislation (A.9554) which will begin the process to prepare New York State for a proper count during the 2020 Census. Undercounts during the 2000 and 2010 Census have cost New York two congressional seats and a loss of tens of billions in federal aid for a range of programs from education to housing to transportation. The legislation begins a multi-year planning process to ensure that state, local and nonprofit sectors are better prepared to ensure a proper count and will prevent future funding losses, including the now projected loss of one more congressional member due to a combination of slow population growth and chronic undercounting of New York State residents.

“With rampant growth in child poverty rates and among our elderly and families, New York can ill afford another census undercount. It has already cost us tens of billions in lost federal aid which could have been used to strengthen our communities and economy. It has also cost us political clout in Washington as we continue to lose members of Congress as other states gain members. My legislation begins the process to ensure a proper count and bring billions in needed aid to communities across New York,” stated Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo.

“Each person not counted by the U.S Census costs New York State $3,054 dollars in lost federal funding. Now multiply this by the more than 700,000 New Yorkers not counted and what we find is that annually our State loses $1.5 billion in federal aid for a range of programs which help our children, our families, our senior citizens with their education, their housing needs, their medical needs and more,” added Crespo. “And this figure could be much higher because New York State has done little to ensure state and local level participation in ensuring a complete count.”

At a conservative estimate, the loss of $1.5 billion each year for a decade between 2010 and 2020, New York will have lost $15 billion dollars in federal aid provided through 75 programs which are apportioned and distribute to states and localities using statistics gathered by the decennial census. An undercount guarantees not only lose in federal aid but with population shifts in the 50 states New York has lost and will continue to lose seats in Congress.

The proposed legislation creates a 61 member planning body called the 2020 Complete Count Commission. It is responsible for putting together an action plan for state, local and nonprofit agencies to ensure a complete count. The commission must produce three reports to document the plan and progress on implementing it prior to the 2020 Census. The commission is also required to recommend state funding levels to implement their proposed action plans prior to the enactment of budgets for FY 2017-18 through FY 2019-20.

Crespo remarked, “In 2009, NYS appropriated $2 million dollars to help with public awareness on the importance of the 2010 Census. That amount translated into roughly a ten cents investment in every New Yorker. That low level of investment and attention given to the important functions of the Census led to the documented undercount. This mistake cannot be repeated.”

The undercount of the 2010 Census was very evident in New York City. There, over 8 million people living in only about 305 square miles were told that the City had only grown by about 100,000 residents even though over the previous 10 years over 1.25 million births had been recorded by the Bureau of Vital Statistics. Simultaneously, there had been only about 500,000 deaths during that period. The U.S. Census told New York State that it had only grown by 164,000 residents. Upstate New York covers almost 47,000 square miles and has over 9 million of the State’s 19.4 million residents. “It is obvious that if an undercount has occurred in a smaller and highly dense populated area that Upstate New York has probably been subject to a worse undercount,” declared Crespo.

Prior to the beginning of the 2010 Census, the NYC population was estimated to be at 8.1 million residents and City officials had estimated it had grown to 8.4 million. However the US Census enumerated only 8,175,133 residents. Parts of Upstate and Long Island had seen growth as well but the Census count enumerated NYS residents at 19,378,102, a probable under count of some half a million residents.

“To compound this problem, the US Census announced late last year that New York was in line to lose another congressional district based on slow population growth and rapid growth in other parts of the country. The need for a complete and accurate count and the need for New York State to begin the planning process now for the 2020 Census is very clear,” Stated Crespo.

According to Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda, member of the Assembly Standing Committee on Housing, “In the last Census, undercounting of New York’s population, especially in New York City, cost the state and city millions of dollars in aid and almost certainly — and unfairly — weakened New York’s representation in Congress,” said Assemblyman Luis Sepúlveda (D, Bronx). “This cannot be allowed to happen again. Consequently, it is imperative that we plan ahead to ensure that the 2020 Census accurately counts all New Yorkers.”

Karla Digirolamo, CEO of the New York State Community Action Association, stated “New York's Community Action network of federally designated anti-poverty agencies serve every county and borough in the state - leveraging just over $50,000,000 in Community Services Block Grant funds into nearly $845,000,000. This funding used to provide resources and services to low income people. These funds are private and public funds, and much of them rely in one way or another on census data. We use census data to assess community needs as well as to access funding.”

She added, “Additionally, Community Action is deeply committed to empowering low income people and ensuring their voices are heard. Community Action Agencies are required by federal law to include low income representatives on their boards - a minimum of one third of board members must represent low income people. Community Action encourages low income people to engage in our democracy at all levels - from our agency boards to school boards, from local to state and federal office - we believe people should be fairly represented and heard. How can we ensure every voice is heard if everyone is not counted? Community Action supports any action that results in more people completing their Census surveys, more people being counted.”

Maria Alvarez, Executive Director of the NY StateWide Senior Action Council, said, “We salute Assemblyman Crespo for proposing a much needed investment to achieve an accurate census count. With missed opportunities to count residents, including the outreach provided by community based not for profit organizations that specialize in case finding, our state faces diminished representation in Congress and diminished resources. Federal Administration on Aging funds are distributed to states based on the number of older New Yorkers and provide essential resources to support aging with dignity. Let's make sure that all are counted, and New York gets its fair share of federal aid for aging, human services and other vital programs.”

Beth Finkel, State Director of AARP in New York State, declared, “We all know how critical it is to count correctly, and in this case there’s so much at stake: tens of millions of dollars in annual federal aid that could help provide New Yorkers better public transportation, health care and much more – including potentially protecting a New York seat in the House. AARP has 2.6 million members across the state who would benefit from an accurate census count, so we applaud Assemblyman Crespo for his leadership on this issue.”

According to Ronald Deutsch, Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, "There is no question that an accurate Census count is of the utmost importance to our state. Assembly member Crespo is wisely introducing legislation that will establish a commission to help ensure an accurate count during the next Census in 2020. We need an accurate count to make sure that New York gets its fair share of federal funding and that we are adequately represented in Congress," said Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute.

Blair Horner, Executive Director of NYPIRG, stated "Getting the census right is critically important," said Blair Horner, NYPIRG Executive Director. "This legislation will help ensure that New York's population number is as accurate as it can be. Assemblymember Crespo deserves credit for giving the state a running head start."

Susan Zimet, Executive Director of the Hunger Action Network of New York State, stated, "The importance of the census count cannot be underestimated. The needs of those facing poverty and hunger need all the resources available to help lift themselves up so they can live a life of dignity. Every federal dollar lost because of the census undercount is a dollar lost to help with services. Additionally New York cannot afford to lose another Congressional voice in our nation's capital.”

“Manhattan has over 48,000 residents per square mile alone. While huge sections of Upstate have an average density of only 50-100 people per square mile. We have areas like Hamilton County which only has 2.6 residents per square mile,” added Crespo. “We need to understand that our geography and the varying density of population provide us with avenues for a proper count and obstacles for a proper count. We need to make the 2020 Complete Count Commission a reality this year. If we fail to plan properly for the 2020 Census, we will have failed to prevent the loss of billions more in lost annual federal aid and slow the decline of influence of our shrinking congressional delegation.”