The U.S. Census Bureau’s New York Regional Office has announced the selection of midtown Manhattan as the site for its regional census center to support the 2010 Census.

     The center will employ nearly 200 people during its peak operations in 2010. The 23,000-square-foot site will serve as the management location for the region’s 2010 Census operations. The address is 330 West 34 Street, New York, NY 10001.

     The census centers will be in the same metropolitan areas as the Census Bureau’s 12 regional offices and each will oversee field operations within their region.

     “Serving as the region’s operational hub for all 2010 Census activities, the regional census center will provide field management, recruiting, administrative, community outreach and automation support to local census offices and a eventual temporary staff of thousands in our two-state region,” said Lester Farthing, regional director.

     The New York region includes the five boroughs of New York City, and Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland and Westchester counties, as well as the 10 northern counties of New Jersey. The New York region contains 11 of the 100 most populated counties in the nation.

     The 2010 Census will have one of the shortest census questionnaires in history, dating back to the nation’s first census in 1790. Census Day is April 1, 2010. The Census Bureau will mail or deliver more than 130 million questionnaires to households in the United States. All personal information will be kept confidential.

     Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution mandates an actual enumeration of the U.S. population for the purpose of the apportionment of congressional seats. In addition, state and local government agencies, tribal governments, businesses, academia, nonprofit organizations and members of the general public rely on census data to make informed decisions.