On Brooklyn bus tour, Nets, Liberty seek greater census participation

October 3, 2020 Editorial Staff

The tour passed through northern Brooklyn on Thursday and southern Brooklyn on Friday, ending its journeys at Downtown’s Barclays Center. Photos: Mike Lawrence/BSE Global

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The Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty and Barclays Center tipped off a two-day boroughwide bus tour on Thursday to encourage individuals to complete the 2020 Census and register to vote.

The double-decker bus visited specific Brooklyn neighborhoods trailing in census completion and voter registration, with volunteers from BSE Global, the Mayor’s Office of the Census and NYC Census 2020 engaging with residents to raise awareness about both the 2020 Census and voter registration.

Also aboard was Team Hype, a Nets on-court entertainment group, to give away Nets and Liberty merch.

The bus pulled up to Barclays Center on Thursday evening.

The bus ended its first day at Barclays Center on Thursday evening, where the Nets and Liberty hosted an event on the plaza where individuals could complete the census, register to vote, and enjoy other entertainment elements like a live D.J. and a photo booth.

Barclays Center will serve as a polling site for the 2020 general election from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1, and on Election Day, Nov. 3.

“New York City is currently at a 61.1 percent census self-response rate — 0.8 points lower than we were at ten years ago,” said NYC Census 2020 Field Director Kathleen Daniel. “It is critical for New Yorkers to complete the census as we are in danger of losing not only two congressional representatives in Washington, but billions in federal funding for the next ten years.

An attendee received a T-shirt at Barclays Center on Thursday.

“In order to reach people who have not yet completed the census, it’s important to have partners like the Nets, Liberty and Barclays Center, who can help us make completing the census more appealing by driving energy and excitement,” she added. “This bus tour has increased attention on the need for Brooklynites to fill out the census and people are coming out to see the bus and learn more — we’re having fun, while getting it done.”

Brooklyn is at a critical juncture in the census count, with the lowest self-response rate in the city and lagging drastically behind America’s average census response rate.

An attendee at Barclays Center filled out a voter registration form.

Without a complete count, New York City could lose billions of dollars every year for the next 10 years for COVID-19 relief and vital congressional representation.

The bus tour completed its second day of stops on Friday, after driving through southern Brooklyn.

Complete the 2020 Census here.