City loses Census recount bid

The US Census Bureau rejected the city’s appeal to redo the 2010 population count, costing it federal funding and representation, the New York Daily News reported. The Census Bureau counted the city’s population at 8.175 million, roughly 225,000 less than city officials believed it to be.

In a sharp critique that ultimately led to an official challenge filed last year, the Bloomberg administration said the problem stemmed from housing units in Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Jackson Heights and Astoria that were erroneously counted as vacant.

““The census tells us that there’s 170,000 units that were built — housing units — that were built in New York City over the past decade,” Bloomberg said last year. “Yet the census says that these 170,000 units are home to only 165,000 people. Can’t be, I mean there’s a lot more than one person on average.”

The Daily News said city officials blamed the rejection on a complicated technical appeals process that makes it difficult to correct errors. [NYDN]