After a brief Coronavirus hiatus, we’re back with our 50th episode of Radio Free Bay Ridge! And to celebrate, we’re reuniting our old co-host duo of Rachel and Dan. This important episode comes with an even more important subject: the 2020 Census in Bay Ridge.
We are already deep into the 2020 Census. April 1st has already passed, the official date of the count. But Bay Ridge is lagging way behind the national response rate. If the trend continues, we are going to see a repeat of 2020: a disastrous undercount. That means worse healthcare planning, less money for infrastructure,
So today on the show, we’re going to talk about how we can improve Bay Ridge’s response rates. We will talk about how the odds are stacked against us. First, it was harmed by the Trump Administration’s efforts to skew the census results. Now, COVID-19 crisis has further harmed local get-out-the-count efforts.
But it is possible to overcome these challenges. Listen in, and check out our show notes below for how to get involved.
Help ensure resources are spent on hard-to-count and vulnerable populations!
Complete the census before September 30th, when the Census ends!
Audio Bookmarks
Quickly jump to key parts of the episode by clicking the links below…
- Welcome back, Rachel!
- Our 50th episode & a recap
- Introduction to the Census
- Interview with Councilmember Justin Brannan
- What can we do to help?
- How digital responses save money for hard-to-count areas
- How local businesses use Census data
- Hard-to-count areas in Bay Ridge
- Celebrating our 50th Episode
- Signoff
Show Notes
Volunteer for Local Census Efforts
As we mentioned in the show, you can help volunteer to assist with local census efforts! As Mary mentioned, AAANY is working on phone and text banking. You can volunteer with the link below. You can also check out job openings with the US Census as well!
If you are running a local census outreach effort, please contact us and we’ll be happy to add your information below!
Bay Ridge Census Maps
Bay Ridge Average: 60.3%
| New Jersey!? | 67.0% |
| United States | 64.9% |
| Staten Island | 63.0% |
| New York State | 61.0% |
| Bay Ridge | 60.3% |
| Manhattan | 58.9% |
| The Bronx | 58.9% |
| Queens | 58.8% |
| Brooklyn | 54.4% |
| Dyker Heights | 51.0% |
| Sunset Park | 48.8% |
*Last updated August 31st, 2020. All data taken from the 2020 Census Response Rate Mapper
Social Media Census Kit
You can help spread the word about the census in Bay Ridge… online! Here are some ready-made graphics that you can use to boost local census efforts.
#BayRidgeCounts #2020Census #GetCountedNYC
Response Rate Map
Facebook Frames
Check out our custom profile picture frame if you use Facebook!
Social Media Banners
Zoom Backgrounds
Challenge 
Funding 
Undercount
Shareable Images
Challenge 
Funding 
Undercount
Census Memes!
We’ve created a couple of Bay Ridge focused memes for you to use freely! If you make any additional ones, feel free to email, tweet or Facebook message us and we can add them here!
Saturday Night Fever 
Peggy Olson 
App Alert
A Challenger Appears!
If you are a member of a large organization or civic group in Bay Ridge, be sure to check out the US Census’s Challenge Toolkit. It can help you challenge friendly nearby businesses, block associations, social clubs, and more to increase our local response rate!
Additional Reading…
- Check out our Community Archive recording exclusively about local efforts to boost the 2020 Census!