Home Delivery

Nassau, Suffolk to challenge Census numbers for LI

BY OLIVIA WINSLOW | olivia.winslow@newsday.com

May 8, 2008

Article tools

E-mail

Share
- Digg
- Del.icio.us
- Facebook
- Fark
- Google
- Newsvine
- Reddit
- Yahoo

With the loss of millions of federal dollars at stake, Nassau and Suffolk county officials said yesterday they plan to join forces to challenge U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for 2007 they say are too low and conflict with other data.

"We are in officially," Thomas Stokes, Nassau's deputy county executive for operations and finance, said of the county's plan to work with Suffolk on the challenge.

The census estimate shows Nassau to be the only downstate county to lose population: 28,011 since 2000 for a total population estimate of 1,306,533.

The census estimate for Suffolk shows the county gained 33,860 people since 2000, for a total population of 1,453,229. Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said the county is being shortchanged.

"We just passed the 1.5 million mark for the first time ever," Levy said, alluding to a recent Long Island Power Authority population survey. "We're still growing. We're not in decline."

LIPA's annual population surveys since 2000 show that Suffolk gained 85,578 people, for a January 2007 population estimate of 1,504,947. Nassau gained 20,758 people in that time, according to the surveys.

"We're looking to join forces with Nassau," Levy said. "We think we'll have more clout when we work together. ... It would be malpractice for us to sit back and accept these figures that we know are not an accurate reflection of reality," citing a rise in building permits - up 30,367 since 2000.

Seth Forman, chief planner with the Long Island Regional Planning Board, estimated that Nassau could lose up to $23 million in federal funds and Suffolk up to $24 million "based on the difference between Census estimates and LIPA." Census population data affects localities' share of federal aid.

Jeff Osinski, director of research for the New York State Association of Counties, which hosted an online seminar yesterday on the census estimates, said the estimated population declines in 33 New York counties - all of them upstate except for Nassau - could mean a loss of federal money and at least two congressional seats.

Association officials were skeptical of the census' estimate for Nassau and urged the county to challenge it.

In the hopes of improving census counts, Patricia Bourne, Nassau's executive director of planning, said the county recently participated in a Census address update program, finding 8,600 addresses the Census Bureau did not have. She said that could result in more than 25,000 people being counted.

Get breaking news | Most popular stories | Dining and Travel deals all via e-mail!

Would you recommend this?

Rate it: