Rockville Centre Census data reveal small changes

It would be inaccurate to describe the population of Rockville Centre as a mosaic — the village is, after all, 88 percent white — but 2010 U.S. Census data show that it has become slightly more diverse since the last census, in 2000.

As the number of white village residents declined slightly, along with the total population, Hispanics and blacks comprised the largest minorities, even though their numbers remain small. The village’s population of blacks jumped by nearly 20 percent over the last decade, and the Hispanic population grew by 13 percent — numbers that at least one interested observer says aren’t high enough.

“I don’t think the Census Bureau did the same amount of work in this village as they did for the 2000 census,” said Margarita Grasing, executive director of the Hispanic Brotherhood of Rockville Centre. “In 2000 we had a person from the Census Bureau sitting in this agency and actually going out for interviews with someone from the agency. And this year we made the same offer, we asked them and, in all honesty, they disappeared. They told us that only designated paid census workers were allowed to assist people with the questions. What happened is that a lot of people didn’t know the faces at the door, they were strangers and they were not given the right information. Our numbers are underreported — our numbers should have gone up more.”

But Grasing qualified those remarks with others about how the village operates. “The amount of housing in Rockville Centre affects our numbers,” she said. “Not much affordable housing is being built. The population [of Hispanics] has to be a bit comparable to what you have to live in. We don’t have overcrowding here, like in Hempstead or Freeport — the village maintains control of that and keeps it a nice place to live.”

Grasing said she agreed with the way the Hispanic population is counted by the census — aggregated into other ethnic categories — and offered her own family as an example of the potential complications: She is Cuban, her husband is Irish and her children were born in the U.S. She said that although Rockville Centre’s Hispanic population still largely comprises Dominicans, there are also Cubans and Puerto Ricans, though not many Central Americans.

By contrast, the school district, which includes areas outside but contiguous to the incorporated village, is considered diverse. Its current enrollment figures show that of nearly 3,550 students, more than 20 percent are members of minorities. Ten percent — 350 students — are of Hispanic origin, while more than 230 — 6.5 percent — are black, and there are more than 170 Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern students. They constitute nearly 5 percent of the district’s student body.

Although slightly higher than the census data for the village, the school-district minority populations have changed little in recent years. “Because we’re at that 20 percent threshold, the state views the school district as being diverse,” said Superintendent Dr. William Johnson. “We are characterized by others in that way. Despite this characterization of our student population, we’re ranked with other districts that are considered far less diverse.”

Grasing noted the stability of the Rockville Centre community. “We also still have the same families from 30 years ago,” she said. “Their children have graduated, and many have businesses of their own that contribute to Long Island’s economy.”

Mayor Mary Bossart views the latest census results in much the same way. “I think these numbers are consistent with what we’re seeing across the country, that there’s greater immigration from Hispanic population areas,” Bossart said. “[The numbers] appear to be right in the village — we’ve had a slow, stable change over time, really since the late 1960s and early ’70s. People moved to Rockville Centre because they found it attractive — as most everyone else who lives in the village does. And they’ve raised their children successfully with the American dream. And that’s the story of the United States. As long as that continues, our future is bright. We welcome everyone.”

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