Mayor, Northeast Queens Reps Challenge Census Data

Elected officials representing northeast Queens have joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s call for a recount following recently released Census numbers that indicate the five boroughs only grew by 2.1 percent during the past decade.

Queens, which was listed as the 10th most populous region in the United State, only grew by a mere .1 percent, according to the Census.

But Bloomberg has officially challenged those numbers, saying he believes there were errors in counting the population of the five boroughs and calling on the Census Bureau to perform a recount.

“We believe that errors have occurred in putting together the Census results for Brooklyn and Queens,” the mayor said during a press conference last week in Jackson Heights. “It seems evidence to us that something incongruous happened in the Census count in these two boroughs.”

The mayor said the Census numbers, which were released last Thursday, would not change the process of determining the city’s Congressional representation, but could affect the amount of money given to the five boroughs by federal agencies.

Bloomberg said the numbers included “implausibly high numbers” of vacant housing units in the outer boroughs.

Northeast Queens leaders said they supported the mayor’s challenge to the bureau.

“As a former math teacher, I can tell you that the Census count doesn’t add up,” U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-Bayside, said. “The figures released by the Census Bureau are absolutely bizarre. I know of no neighborhood where there are fewer people than there were in the last Census. But I know of scores of neighborhoods where the population has increased in multiples, particularly within the ethnic and minority communities in Queens.”

According to the bureau’s report, only 1,343 people moved to Queens since the 2000 Census was conducted. New York City gained 166,855 new residents, but it was still listed as the most populous metropolitan area in the nation.

The next report will be completed in 2020.

Ackerman said the Census determines the amount the borough will receive for everything from roads and mass transit to hospitals, schools, public safety, small business assistance and job training.

Councilman Dan Halloran, R-Whitestone, said he also found the numbers baffling.

“These results just don’t add up,” he said. “I’ve seen Queens add density and development in the last decade and I know those new buildings aren’t empty. I’m calling on the federal government to do a recount to make sure we get the funding and representation we deserve.”

To view 2010 Census data, click here.