Census glitches leave out residents of two LI complexes

The U.S. Census Bureau's huge effort to try to get a census form to every resident in the country didn't always go as planned on Long Island.

Residents of two large complexes - Leisure Village in Ridge, 1,500 units, and Woodgate Village in Holbrook, 504 units - told Newsday they never received the census form, and a bureau official said that occurred at a few other places she would not identify.

In addition, advocates and residents cited other glitches: census workers not always available at posted hours at the bureau's local assistance centers; and center locations were not always accurate.

Nevertheless, the bureau says such a large-scale effort was bound to have a few kinks and they have apologized. "We tried to be receptive to communities," said Patricia Valle, assistant regional census manager overseeing Long Island. "Obviously, we could not satisfy every single person."

Now that the bureau's mail-back campaign has ended, it will pivot to its field operation that begins Saturday. Census takers will go door-to-door interviewing residents who had not responded.

The bureau confirmed residents' suspicions that inaccurately addressed census forms were to blame at Leisure Village and Woodgate Village.

"These were addresses where the census knew they were there, but address sequencing was different than the way the post office delivered the mail," Valle said.

Nancy Dybus of Leisure Village didn't wait for the follow-up. She said this week she recently got a census form from the local library, filled it out and mailed it.

Meanwhile, community advocates noted problems at one of the bureau's Questionnaire Assistance Centers on Long Island.

Rahsmia Zatar, census project coordinator for the Uniondale Community Council, said she visited the library the first week of April and "saw a man waiting for assistance, but the census person wasn't there" during the posted time of operation. The bureau told her there had been a scheduling conflict, later resolved.