Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and a diverse range of civic, business, academic, immigrant and faith-based organizations assembled at Borough Hall, Tuesday, November 10th for the first meeting of the Complete Count Committee, which will help to make certain that an accurate count of Queens’ residents is taken by the 2010 U.S. Census.

Marshall was joined by Ms. Ligia Jaquez, Deputy Regional Director of the U.S. Census Bureau and Stacey Cumberbatch, NYC 2010 Census Coordinator.

The Honorable Reverend Floyd Flake, D. Min., Pastor of the Greater Allen AME Cathedral, spoke on the importance of the 2010 Census. Other speakers included Ms. Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director of Make the Road New York, a grassroots organization that develops strategies to combat inequity and economic injustice; and S.J. Jung, president of the Minkwon Center for Community Action in Flushing.

“The 2010 Census will determine our county’s representation in the U.S. Congress and State Legislature for the next ten years and help determine where to allocate more than $300 billion in federal funding for major services, including health care, education and transportation,” said Marshall.

“A key component of the Complete Count Committee’s efforts is to allay fear, particularly among undocumented immigrants and people living in overcrowded housing, and reinforce that under federal law, the personal information collected by the Census Bureau is entirely confidential, and cannot be shared with any federal, state or city agency,” said Ms. Jaquez.



“Even when we lower the fear ratio, the Borough President noted that, “Here in Queens – America’s most diverse county – we face unique challenges fueled by a multitude of languages spoken in a multicultural society.”

Ms. Cumberbatch, speaking on behalf of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, stated, “I want to thank Borough President Marshall for focusing on the critically important issue of the 2010 Census and the NYC 2010 Census Office looks forward to working with her office and the Complete Count Committee to ensure that all Queens’ residents are fully and accurately counted in the 2010 Census.”.

In Census 2000, the borough’s response to a mail-in questionnaire was a meager 54 percent – 13 percent below the national average of 67 percent.

“Today, to help ensure that this does not happen again, I have assembled a committee of trusted and respected leaders, who will share outreach strategies and, among other things, create a multilingual speakers bureau to spread the word of how important the census is in all our futures,” said Marshall.

“I thank the U.S. Census Bureau, the New York City Census Coordinator and all those leaders here today for their combined efforts to raise the number of residents who will be counted in the 2010 Census,” said Marshall.

“Although census forms, the shortest in the history of the Census Bureau, will not be arriving in mailboxes until March, I call today on every Queens’ resident to stand up and be counted in the 2010 census.

In a related development, Marshall noted that the U.S. Census is currently hiring individuals for a wide range of positions, including census takers, crew leaders and census clerks. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and pass a written test. Applicants can call 866-861-2010 or 347-967-4020 on Monday to Friday between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. for more information or on weekends between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

(ED: Jan 7, 2010: The list of members of the Complete Count Committee is still in formation. To find out who is participating in this initiative, please call Susie Tanenbaum at 718-286-2741.)