Yesterday, we reported officials with the U.S. Census had gone to Community Board 3, asking for help in gaining access to several buildings in the neighborhood. One of the developments they mentioned was the Hillman Cooperative on Grand Street, where State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver lives. Today we received a statement from Silver about the situation:
“My office has been working diligently with the U.S. Census Bureau to make sure it has as full and accurate a count as possible. After it came to light that the Hillman Co-op complex did not receive their forms, we helped facilitate contacts between census officials and building management. In addition to offering census takers access for door-to-door visits, management also agreed to allow census workers to set up tables in common areas of the building where forms could be distributed. My office also offered to put census forms under people’s doors. These offers were not acted upon until yesterday, when the census contacted management and workers were allowed into the building. I will continue to work with the census bureau, as well as with our federal elected officials, to provide any assistance that is needed. It is vital that everyone in our neighborhood is counted so that we receive our fair share of government funding and political representation.”
The problem at Hillman apparently stemmed from the fact that the addresses on Census forms were incorrect. The Postal Service returned the forms because there was insufficient information to deliver the forms to each apartment.
