Past Event: "Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?" NYC According to the Census

Every ten years the Census provides a unparalleled opportunity to observe the changes in the population living in the hundreds of neighborhoods that comprise New York City. In this panel discussion, we zoom in on the most significant population shifts as indicated by recent Census data, not only through immigration, but also other demographic changes, and anticipate what the 2020 Census will reveal. We will also ask how the population churn affects New Yorkers’ common ideas and assumptions about neighborhood identity across the five boroughs, from East Harlem and St. George to Sunset Park, Morrisania, and LIC.

Héctor R. Cordero-Guzmán, Professor at Baruch College and CUNY Graduate Center
Nancy Foner, Professor at Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center
Bitta Mostofi, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs
Joseph J. Salvo, Chief Demographer, NYC Department of City Planning
Hansi Lo Wang (moderator), National Correspondent, NPR

Exhibition viewing of Who We Are: Visualizing NYC by the Numbers to follow. 

About the Speakers:
Héctor R. Cordero-Guzmán is a Professor at the Austin Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College of the City University of New York (CUNY) and in the Ph.D. Programs in Sociology and in Urban Education at the CUNY Graduate Center. He has also served on the board of directors of several organizations including The Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance, The Economic Policy Institute, The Association for Research on Non-Profit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), El Museo Del Barrio, and New York City’s Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Nancy Foner is distinguished professor of sociology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Her many books include One Out of Three: Immigrant New York in the Twenty-First Century (2013) and From Ellis Island to JFK: New York's Two Great Waves of Immigration (2000).  Her many honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship and she is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is currently working on a book on how immigration is transforming America.

Bitta Mostofi is a lifelong immigrant rights advocate and human rights organizer, committed to making sure all New Yorkers, no matter their status or zip code, have access to justice. In May of 2018, Mayor de Blasio appointed Mostofi to commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, where she previously spearheaded the IDNYC outreach campaign, and helped design the ActionNYC legal services program. She previously worked at Safe Horizons where she represented immigrants, asylees, and others before the immigration court.

Joseph J. Salvo is New York City's chief demographer. His staff in the Population Division at the Department of City Planning provides data and analytical expertise to agencies on needs assessments, program planning and targeting, and policy formation. He has testified before Congress and has been an adviser to the Census Bureau. He is presently leading a team making technical preparations for the 2020 Census and is active nationally in promoting the use of methods that will provide a more accurate count of the city's population.

Hansi Lo Wang (moderator) is a national correspondent for NPR based in New York City. Wang covers the people, power, and money behind the 2020 Census for NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, hourly newscasts, and NPR.org. This year, the American Statistical Association awarded Wang its Excellence in Statistical Reporting Award for covering the census preparations and the legal battle over the now-blocked citizenship question. 

This program accompanies our exhibition Who We Are: Visualizing New York by the Numbers (open through August 23, 2020) as well as the Museum's Future City Lab, the interactive third gallery in our New York at Its Core exhibition. 

Watch a video of the conversation: