Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC Population Count May Have Been Wrong, Says Census Bureau
By
Garth Johnston
Published May 9, 2011
Modified May 9, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published May 9, 2011
Modified May 9, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
From the moment the results of the 2010 Census were released New York City was questioning how exactly the Big Apple, which didn't do so well, was counted. Surprising nobody, within a week it was announced that the city would formally contest the count. But with it being illegal to go out and actually recount who lives where—specifically in some areas of Queens that were suspiciously devoid of life in the Census—the city would need to prove the lower numbers are due to a technical error. And now it looks like that may be possible.
At stake is a tremendous amount of Federal funding, as Crain's explains, "winning back 80,000 residents would net the city roughly $2.4 billion in federal funds over the next 10 years."
Anyway Tony Farthing, the New York regional director of the U.S. Census Bureau, testified to the City Council today that the issue might in fact be "more of a processing issue and not so much the population count” when questioned about the issue by Brooklyn Councilman Vincent Gentile.
If the issue is in fact about processing it make the job of Joseph Salvo, director of the Department of City Planning’s Population Division, a bit easier as he tries to work within the Census bureau's curious count question resolution process to get NYC its fair share of the pie.
Whatever the outcome though, it will take some time before it is resolved. In the meantime Farthing assured the Council that his team is “going to look at all aspects of those vacancies,” referring to the seemingly empty lots that the city finds so head-scratching. “What we can do and what we will do is look at this a little bit deeper.”
Tagged
census
census 2010
census contest
department of city planning
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Police identify 2 men wanted for stabbing an off-duty NYPD officer
D’Angelo Caraballo and Sneider Mejia are wanted on several charges, including attempted murder.
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Oct 6, 2026 at 11:05 a.m. ET
NYC’s autumn foliage will be a fall feast this year
A rainy fall will intensify autumn foliage colors, making them last longer, too.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
NYC’s autumn foliage will be a fall feast this year
A rainy fall will intensify autumn foliage colors, making them last longer, too.
By
Rosemary Misdary
NY officials worry migrants will skip healthcare amid fed policy change
By
Caroline Lewis
Early Addition: Spy magazine is doing a Substack pop-up
By
James Ramsay
Bronx woman found dead and infant in critical condition after balcony push, NYPD says
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .