For Immediate Release: Novenber 10, 1999

NYC LEADERS PLAN FOR ACCURATE 2000 CENSUS
HISPANIC FEDERATION AND U.S. CENSUS MONITORING BOARD HOST PANEL ON 2000 CENSUS PARTICIPATION IN NYC

ASSEMBLY MEMBER ROBERTO RAMIREZ, MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT VIRGINA FIELDS, COUNCIL MEMBER AND FINANCE CHAIR HERBERT BERMAN, COUNCIL MEMBER ADOLFO CARRION AND COUNCIL MEMBER HELEN MARSHALL AMONG DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS

NEW YORK CITY -- The Hispanic Federation, Inc., in conjunction with the U.S. Census Monitoring Board, hosted a forum today bringing some of New York City's top elected officials, community leaders and the U.S. Census Bureau together to discuss strategies to ensure that every New Yorker is counted in the 2000 census.

With April 1, 2000 - the official Census Day - less than five months away, participants discussed the unique challenges facing New York City and community-based solutions to ensure a more accurate count in 2000.

"We must work in partnership with community leaders to educate the public on how the census affects our everyday lives," said Gilbert F. Casellas, Presidential Co-Chair of the U.S. Census Monitoring Board and Member of the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Federation. "Many do not realize that the information collected in the census is used to allocate funding for schools, highways, hospitals, and other essential services. Tragically, an undercount represents a significant loss of federal funds to the communities that need them most."

The Census Monitoring Board is a bipartisan oversight body created in 1997 to oversee preparations for the implementation of the 2000 census. It is composed of eight members, four appointed by Congress and four appointed by the President of the United States.

Left to right -- Ev Ehrlich CMBP Member, Gilbert Casellas CMBP Co-Chair,
Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez, President of the Hispanic Federation, Inc.

According to the Census Bureau, the 1990 census did not count more than 8.4 million people and counted 4.4 million people twice. The majority of those overlooked were children, the poor and people of color. In New York City, the Census missed about 245,000 - that is more than 3 percent of the city's population. As a result of this undercount, New York lost more than $415 million in federal funds during the 1990s.

"Thousands of New York's children were missed in the 1990 census," noted Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, President of the Hispanic Federation, Inc. "That is why the Hispanic Federation has taken a leadership role in promoting an accurate census. A strong working partnership between the Census Bureau and New York's community-based organizations can only improve the 2000 census results."

To open the forum, Tony Farthing, New York Regional Director, U.S. Census Bureau, discussed ways in which community groups can empower their communities by taking ownership of the census and work in partnership with the Census Bureau to ensure a more accurate count.

"The decennial census is a process that the Census Bureau must do with the nation, not to the nation," noted Dr. Everett M. Ehrlich, U.S. Census Monitoring Board Member and former Undersecretary for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce. "The best information on how to count a community comes from that community, not Washington D.C. That is why the Census Bureau needs to enlist the cooperation and support of every community for Census 2000."

Following Farthing's presentation, a series of elected officials and community leaders spoke about the importance of an accurate census to New York City, the unique challenges in counting New York's diverse urban population and current community-based efforts to ensure an accurate census count in 2000.

"After hearing the panelists, I was impressed by the unique characteristics that make New York City a hard-to-enumerate area," said Casellas. "New York's high levels of population mobility combined with a large immigration population pose a significant challenge for the Census Bureau."

Among the distinguished panelists that spoke were Assembly Member Roberto Ramirez; Manhattan Borough President Virgina Fields; Council Member and Finance Chair Herbert Berman; Council Member Adolfo Carrion; and Council Member Helen Marshall, Co-Chair of the Black and Latino Caucus.

Also participating were Margaret Chin, Executive Director, Asian Americans for Equality; Margie McHugh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition; Fr. Kevin Sullivan, COO, Catholic Charities; John Flateau, Dean of External Relations, Medgar Evers College of CUNY and Michael Amezquita, Executive Director, Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrants' Rights.

The participating members of the Census Monitoring Board were Co-Chair Gilbert Casellas; Co-Chair Ken Blackwell and Member Dr. Everett M. Ehrlich.

The community forum was one of a series of activities sponsored by the U.S. Census Monitoring Board in a nationwide effort to help communities achieve a more accurate count in 2000.

About the Hispanic Federation The Hispanic Federation, Inc. is a membership organization of more than 62 Hispanic health and human service agencies in New York and New Jersey.

Contact: Brian Krapf, George Arzt Communications, Inc., (212) 608-0333
          John Chambers, U.S. Census Monitoring Board, (202) 256-1608