"Mayor Bloomberg says census figures shortchange New York City"

Hi Gang:
New York Senator Chuck Schumer and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg are singing a duet today.  They are both complaining loudly about how the most recent Census allegedly undercounted New York City’s population.
I have provided you with three news reports that document their complaints with the “body count.”  One news report appeared on the CBS Radio website and, if you go to the links I have provided below, you will be able to hear a few of the news reports that were broadcast on the radio recently.
Here is a quote from the WCBS report attributed to Mike Bloomberg:
“We believe that errors have occurred in putting together the census results for Brooklyn and Queens,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “It seems evident to us that something incongruous happened in the Census count in these two boroughs.”

The New York Daily News ran a headline that blared:
 
“Sen. Chuck Schumer demands investigation into 2010 U.S. Census after fishy New York numbers”

Other politicians expressed similar frustration and, indeed, anger over what they claim is a serious undercounting of the number of residents reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. 
Reportedly the concern about the undercounting has to do with money.  Here is a quote from the CBS news article:

New York City stands to lose millions of federal dollars, from health programs for kids to highway funding, if the census numbers are correct, reports CBS 2?s Sonia Rincon.

Money is certainly a component of this issue but it is only half of the issue.  The other half of the equation is an unusual form of gerrymandering.  But before we get into this I ask you read on.
If you wonder why I have decided to write a commentary about this- I can assure you that there is a clear nexus between the census and the usual focus of my commentaries and my concerns- immigration.
Let me start out by reminding you of something I have written about in the past- an order given by the chain of command at the former INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service when Jimmy Carter occupied the Oval Office back in the 1970’s.  When the census was about to begin all field agents were ordered to not arrest any aliens without first getting authorization from upper management at the INS.  As an INS Special Agent back then, I had a front row seat to this lunacy.  My colleagues and I were absolutely flummoxed by this incredible order!  When we attempted to get clarification or, at the least, justification from our bosses, we were told that the concern was that if INS arrested illegal aliens that the illegal aliens would hide from the census workers and would not be counted!
For months we were given assignments that made little if any sense.  They could have told us to stay home or go to the movies rather than show up at the office!  We were told to attempt to locate individuals who overstayed their visas and who, according to a highly flawed and archaic “system” that was supposed to track the entry and departure of aliens.  If we could locate them we needed to get clearance to then seek to interview them.  As I recall, most of those aliens came from Europe and were mostly established business people who would be extremely unlikely to violate the terms of their admission.
One case was particularly telling.  Believe it or not, I was told to attempt to locate a British gentleman who, as I recall, was somewhere in his mid 50’s who had provided an address in Manhattan where there were many exquisite brownstone townhouses.  He had apparently entered the United States earlier that year and according to our records, had made numerous entries and departures from our country each year.
I recall parking my government vehicle on this quiet street with tall trees and extremely well maintained townhouses and knocking on the door of this four story tall building.  A man answered the door.  He was dressed in an impeccable suit and, although he was probably about 60 years old, he still appeared to be in excellent physical condition.  He was taller than I and my gut feeling was that he had either been in the military or law enforcement.  When I asked to speak with the British citizen I was looking for, he seemed perplexed.  He told me that the guy I wanted to speak with made numerous visits to the United States and often stayed at the house where we were speaking but that the guy had left months ago for a trip.  When I asked the guy who answered the door if he was the owner of the building he laughed and said that he wished he was the owner!  He was a retired supervisor within the New York State Police and was employed by the Mellon family of Pennsylvania (of banking notoriety) as the security officer for the townhouse!  The Mellon family maintained the house as a place to stay when they came to New York and to provide a place for their close friends.  As it turned out, the guy I was looking for was a multimillionaire who held some sort of royal title in Great Britain and, if my memory serves me, was on his yacht embarking on a voyage to some distant country when I was out looking for him that day!
Two days later I got a phone call from the person I was told to check into.  He was concerned about my inquiries and I had to go to considerable length to assure him he had nothing to worry about!
There is nothing like being sent on a “fool’s errand!”
Many of my colleagues at the INS had similar “adventures” while all sorts of inane and, indeed, insane, assignments were concocted to keep us from, God Forbid, encountering honest to God illegal aliens who, under another of Carter’s orders, we were to henceforth refer to as ‘Undocumented Workers!”
I can assure you that no other law enforcement agencies were instructed to not make arrests during the census!
While it is illegal for aliens- legal or illegally present in our country, to vote- aliens are, in fact, represented in our government.  As you may know, on the federal level, seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned according to population.  Seats in state legislative bodies are also apportioned according to population as reported by the Bureau of Census every ten years.
Traditionally large cities tend to vote for Democrat candidates for Congress.  The more densely packed population centers of cities and states also tend to favor the Democratic Party.  If more seats are picked up by heavily populated cities, the likelihood is that more of those seats will go to candidates who are Democrats. 
When we hear how both parties have favored the massive influx of aliens because of cheap labor and votes, not many people consider the census in discussing this component of this issue.
It has been said that “One man’s meat is another man’s poison!”
When a winter storm dumps inches of ice and snow on city roads, motorists preparing for work look at their windows and become upset that the commute to and from work will take much longer and may entail greater risk of an accident.  Tow truck drivers, auto body shops and accident attorneys all hope that the weather will lead to accidents!  Their businesses stand to benefit by such accidents!
When our nation’s failures to secure the borders of the United States and create an immigration system that has real integrity, the impact of those failures are felt across our nation.  Illegal aliens often displace American and resident alien workers who take the jobs involving factory work and labor on construction sites and may well also have an adverse impact on those who tradesmen who may lose their jobs to day laborers.
The impact of massive numbers of illegal aliens are also felt in many other ways by so many of our citizens and lawful immigrants who may become the victims of criminals who did not simply enter our country to seek unlawful employment but to ply their respective “trades” as criminals.  When I was assigned to the Unified Intelligence Division of the DEA in New York over twenty years ago I decided to do an analysis of arrest records and found that in the New York area some 60% of those arrested by the DEA and the DEA Task Force for drug trafficking and related crimes were identified as being “foreign born” while nationally that statistic was 30%.
A lack of integrity to be found in the lawful immigration system that is “lawful” in name only suffers from massive levels of fraud where aliens marry citizens for a price so that they can acquire green cards and be placed on a pathway to United States citizens while work related visas are often, indeed, all too often- granted to aliens who should not be granted those visas because those visas enable them to displace American workers in high tech industries.  This sort of displacement is absolutely illegal but is an everyday occurrence throughout our country.
Americans and resident aliens who suffer because of the failings of the immigration system are often angered and frustrated by all of these failings but clearly there are those who stand to gain by these failures and gain handsomely!   
When the federal government provides subsidies based on population levels, mayors of cash strapped cities are eager to make certain that their municipalities that are, financially, up against the wall, are eager to have as many residents as possible inhabiting their cities to be able to tap into the financial largess that the federal government provides on the basis of population irrespective of whether those being counted are citizens of the United States or illegal aliens whose very presence in our country represents a violation of our laws!
Consider this quote from the Daily News:
The city tried hard to encourage New Yorkers to fill out their census forms last year because many state and federal programs dole out money based on the city’s population.
What is truly insane is just how aware our officials are of the massive problems created by illegal aliens but are willing to not only ignore these illegal aliens whose true identities are unknown and unknowable and whose intentions in entering our country may potentially involved criminal or even terrorist objectives but also often involve living arrangements that violate all sorts of building regulations that were enacted in order to protect the lives of our cities residents and ultimately our first responders such as firefighters.  Consider this excerpt from the Daily News article that quotes Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn Borough President:

“I’m flabbergasted by these numbers,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. “I know they made a big, big mistake.”

City officials said the census likely missed new immigrants, including those who are here illegally or are living in illegally subdivided homes.

New York gained 170,000 new homes in the last decade, they said, so it’s preposterous to think the population rose by only 166,000.

The census claimed the number of vacant apartments rose in Brooklyn and Queens, where two-thirds of the city’s immigrants live.

City experts suspect census-takers declared them empty because immigrant residents were afraid to be counted by a government worker.
The issue of “Illegally subdivided homes” is not inconsequential.  As an INS special agent I have been in such apartments and have found veritable mazes constructed within apartments where a labyrinth is created in crowded filthy apartments.  When a fire breaks out, the residents of those apartments may find that they have no way out and there have been instances where firefighters have died or been grievously injured because of these illegally “subdivided” apartments that are most often associated with apartments that are rented by illegal aliens.
A couple of years ago, New York Magazine chronicled the tragic events surrounding what is now known by the New York Fire Department as “Black Sunday” when, on a frigid Sunday in January, 2005 two valiant firemen were killed and four others injured so severely that their careers ended that day when they attempted to battle a fire in an illegally subdivided apartment.  That story was appropriately entitled, “No Way Out”
Here is a link that article that I hope you will take the time to read.

http://nymag.com/news/features/26574/index3.html

The bottom line is that you would be hard-pressed to find a major issue that impacts our nation on the federal, state or local level that is not getting significantly impacted by our nation’s ongoing failures to secure its borders and create an immigration system that has real integrity.
The effective enforcement and administration of our nation’s immigration laws are, arguably, among the most important of all missions that are supposed to be carried out by our federal government.  
Nothing less than the security of our nation and safety of our citizens hang in the balance!
A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!

I

our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!

We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.  
My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.
If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same.  We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”

The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.

The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!


The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians.  I implore you to resolve this year to get involved!
I believe our nation’s is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world.  However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda!

If this situation concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation! 

All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!

We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.

This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!

You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!

Democracy is not a spectator sport!

Lead, follow or get out of the way!

-michael cutler- 


Please check out my website:




Mayor Bloomberg says census figures shortchange New York City

BY Benjamin Lesser and Adam Lisberg 
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Originally Published:Thursday, March 24th 2011, 1:20 PM
Updated: Thursday, March 24th 2011, 9:09 PM

The Census Bureau counted 8.175 million New Yorkers in its once-in-a-decade count last year - which Mayor Bloomberg estimates is 225,000 too low.

Funk/Getty

The Census Bureau counted 8.175 million New Yorkers in its once-in-a-decade count last year – which Mayor Bloomberg estimates is 225,000 too low.

We wuz robbed!

New census figures claim there are fewer than 8.2 million New Yorkers in the city – but critics say the Census Bureau flubbed the count and missed hundreds of thousands more.
“It just doesn’t make any sense at all,” Mayor Bloomberg said Thursday. “When three boroughs go up dramatically, and the two most populous boroughs don’t, something’s wrong.”

The Census Bureau claims 8,175,133 people were living in New York when it counted heads last spring.

That’s the highest number ever, but still just a meager 2.1% increase from 10 years before.

Staten Island grew 5.6%, the Bronx grew 3.9% and Manhattan went up 3.2%, the census reported.

Brooklyn rose just 1.6%, and Queens saw a mere 1,343 new residents over an entire decade, the census data show – figures that seem maddeningly low to the people who live there.

“I’m flabbergasted by these numbers,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. “I know they made a big, big mistake.”

City officials said the census likely missed new immigrants, including those who are here illegally or are living in illegally subdivided homes.

New York gained 170,000 new homes in the last decade, they said, so it’s preposterous to think the population rose by only 166,000.

The census claimed the number of vacant apartments rose in Brooklyn and Queens, where two-thirds of the city’s immigrants live.

City experts suspect census-takers declared them empty because immigrant residents were afraid to be counted by a government worker.

“I invite census officials who believe that our population is stagnant to go on tour with me and discover the difference,” said Queens Borough President Helen Marshall.

Joseph Salvo, the city’s top demographer, thinks the city’s true population is closer to 8.4million – so the feds missed between 225,000 and 260,000 New Yorkers.
The Census Bureau’s own 2009 estimate of the city’s population was 8,391,881, but it was based on demographic formulas, not an actual head count.

Queens Sen. Michael Gianaris said his Astoria neighborhood has clearly expanded in the last decade, but the census claims it lost 10,000 people.

“If you want a sense of how Astoria has grown, try getting a seat on the subway in the morning,” he said. “There’s clearly a massive error here.”

What population growth the city did see was driven by a sharp rise in two groups – a 31.8% increase among Asians and an 8.1% growth among Hispanics.

Those increases more than offset a 2.8% decline in non-Hispanic whites and a 5.1% decrease among non-Hispanic blacks.

The census found 2.7 million non-Hispanic whites in New York, 2.3 million Hispanics, 1.9 million blacks and 1 million Asians.

Within the boroughs, some demographic trends appear even more stark: More than one in five non-Hispanic whites in the Bronx left during the last 10 years, while one in eight non-Hispanic blacks disappeared from Manhattan.

Yet in Staten Island, minority populations surged: Its Hispanic population rose 51.4%, Asians rose 40% and blacks increased 11.6%.

The city tried hard to encourage New Yorkers to fill out their census forms last year because many state and federal programs dole out money based on the city’s population.


http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/03/27/nyc-lawmakers-to-challenge-dead-wrong-census-data/

NYC Lawmakers To Challenge ‘Dead Wrong’ Census Data

March 27, 2011 5:27 PM

Mayor Bloomberg

Mayor Bloomberg (Marc A. Hermann-Pool/Getty Images)


Reporting Mike Xirinachs

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Local lawmakers announced plans on Sunday to challenge the 2010 Federal Census count of New York City.

“We believe that errors have occurred in putting together the census results for Brooklyn and Queens,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “It seems evident to us that something incongruous happened in the Census count in these two boroughs.”


WCBS 880?s Mike Xirinachs reports


Dozens of New York’s elected leaders gathered in Jackson Heights – one of the busiest neighborhoods in Queens – to announce that the city will challenge what they believe to be a census undercountreports WCBS 880?s Mike Xirinachs.

“The numbers are dead wrong,” Senator Charles Schumer said. “The Census Bureau has to go back to the drawing board and fix them.”


1010 WINS’ Sonia Rincon reports


New York City stands to lose millions of federal dollars, from health programs for kids to highway funding, if the census numbers are correct, reports CBS 2?s Sonia Rincon.

City and state lawmakers said they will now formally challenge the data.

Mayor Bloomberg indicated that the problem could be census takers counting residences where there was no answer at the door as vacant.

“Anyone who walks the streets knows there is not a lot of empty housing,” he said.

Bloomberg said the biggest undercount seemed to be in immigrant communities.

Senator Schumer said he is asking the Commerce Department to investigate the Census Bureau’s methods. He said their conclusion that the city grew by only about 167,000 people shows they don’t know how to count urban populations.

“They’ve never been good at it, but that’s no reason to short-change New York,” he said.



Sunday, March 27th 2011, 4:00 AM

Sen. Charles Schumer said New York could be shortchanged federal aid because of the count.

Miller for News

Sen. Charles Schumer said New York could be shortchanged federal aid because of the count.

Sen. Chuck Schumer called on the federal government Saturday to probe the 2010 U.S. Census’ finding that New York City had grown by a mere trickle.

“These numbers cry out for investigation,” Schumer said, adding his voice to a chorus of critics, including Mayor Bloomberg, who have railed against the decennial count.

“I’m going to put a lot of pressure on them to do it,” he said. “For the census director to just shrug his shoulders … isn’t good enough.”

The U.S. Census reported that the city grew by 166,855 over a decade to 8.175 million despite a Census estimate last year that reported the city was home to 8.3 million people.

Schumer called for the investigation in a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves.

Schumer said New York could be shortchanged federal aid because of the count.

tmoore@nydailynews.com

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