Census gives NY office miles and miles of data

Queens Chronicle wrote about how census offices in several other states will be closed, making New York's office responsible for collecting and organizing even more data.

How many infants live in Puerto Rico? Workers at the New York regional office of the U.S. Census Bureau will soon be responsible for keeping tabs on the island and many more states, according to the bureau.

Last Wednesday, the government agency announced it would be eliminating half of its regional offices and restructuring within the next 18 months. As a result of these changes, the New York office will now be handling data from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico. Previously, the bureau handled only nine New York and 10 New Jersey counties.

“The Census this last round was a disaster, and the notion that the reaction to that would be to actually reduce management oversight is very disturbing,” said state Sen. Mike Gianaris (D-Astoria). According to Census data, the neighborhood Gianaris represents lost more residents than any other in the city.

Read the full article here.