It’s not only April Fool’s Day! It’s also Census Day. That explains why politicians and community activists fanned out across the city this morning, urging residents to fill out their Census forms and mail them as soon as possible. District 1 City Councilmember Margaret Chin was handing out postcards at the East Broadway/Rutgers subway stop. Staffers from Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s office, as well as volunteers from Asian Americans for Equality and the Chinatown Partnership were also there.
Last week, Mayor Bloomberg said fewer than two percent of residents on the Lower East Side have participated in the U.S. Census so far. He and other elected officials are determined to increase those numbers, since billions of dollars in federal money are at stake.
Chin said she discovered this morning that an entire building, 82 Rutgers, was apparently overlooked when Census forms were mailed. Her staff has alerted federal officials about the problem. If you did not receive a census form, you can request one by going to www.census.gov.
