Calling the Census Bureau's NYC statistics "incongruous," on March 24, 2011, NYC Mayor Bloomberg said, "The census says that we have added 166,000-odd people since the 2000 count, but we are concerned that there’s been a significant undercount.
“We think it’s roughly 2.6 percent of our population, or about 225,000 people. In March of 2010, the Bureau estimated that New York City was home to about 8.4 million people. Now it says our population is – a year later – down to 8.175 million."
The Mayor went on to suggest that immigrant communities, where people may not speak English or be familiar with the purpose of the census, were severely undercounted, with the Census Bureau assuming that a no-reply was the equivalent to non-residency. Among the "heavily immigrant dominated communities" he cited were two in Brooklyn, Bensonhurst, Sunset Park.
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz added that he'd seen population growth in the following neighborhoods: Williamsburg, Greenpoint, DUMBO, downtown Brooklyn. He added, "From 2000 to 2010, if you just count the Hasidim from Williamsburg, the Satmar and the Lubavitch Hasidim in Crown Heights, you’ve got 40,000 increase right there over the last ten years."
