This, from Borough President Marty Markowitz, in light of the new census figures released today: “In 2009, the Census Bureau estimated a 4.1% population growth for Brooklyn since 2000, yet the numbers released today claimed only a 1.6% increase.
“The good news is that this is the largest Brooklyn population since 1970. Even so, I am flabbergasted that the Census Bureau has made such a big mistake in tremendously undercounting our borough. It is inconceivable that Brooklyn—the hottest borough in which to live, work and play—grew only a small percentage in the past decade. By some counts, the Satmar community in Williamsburg, as well as the Lubovitch Chasidim in Crown Heights by themselves grew by 40,000 new residents—and that’s just one example. Given Brooklyn’s reputation as the ‘proud home to everyone from everywhere,’ it’s likely that recent immigrant and minority communities, including the Asian population in South Brooklyn and our residents in Central Brooklyn, have been drastically under-represented in these numbers.â€
Mayor Bloomberg slammed the census overall, saying that it’s estimate of 8.175 million people is under estimated.
