Design Brooklyn’s 2027 pin: how to enter the borough contest by Dec. 6

Brooklyn wants a new official pin for 2027, and the design can come from anyone in the borough. Borough President Antonio Reynoso is running the competition with Colm Dillane, Brooklyn’s art ambassador, and entries are due Dec. 6 at 11:59 p.m.

The tradition dates to Marty Markowitz, who handed out thousands of gold “Brooklyn” pins during his 12 years as borough president, set in the lettering the Brooklyn Dodgers wore. Reynoso revived it in 2025 and asked Dillane, the first person named to the arts ambassador post, to redesign a limited-edition run.

For 2026, the winning design came from a high school student who took inspiration from the subway: the borough’s name in a graffiti-style typeface, with a nod to the R160 train.

Who can enter the Brooklyn pin design competition

Every Brooklyn resident is eligible, regardless of age. Kids and teens who go to a K-12 school in the borough may enter even if their home is somewhere else. Entrants younger than 18 must have a parent or guardian’s consent.

Reynoso and Dillane will choose the winner together. The pin will be unveiled, and first given out, at the borough’s 2027 State of the Borough Address. Dillane described the pin as “a sort of time capsule of Brooklyn.”

Design rules for the 2027 Brooklyn pin

• Only original work counts, and no artificial intelligence is allowed.
• Brooklyn must appear in legible text. Nicknames and playful spellings work too, such as BK, BKLYN or Brooooooklyn.
• Pins will be 1.29 to 1.49 inches wide, so keep that size in mind when drawing.
• Nothing offensive, in words or images.
• Send the design as a PDF, a Word file (DOC or DOCX), an image (JPG, JPEG or PNG), an EPS or SVG, or an Adobe Illustrator file.