Borough president urges Sunset Park to bring its creative spark to Brooklyn pin contest

Staff

Borough president urges Sunset Park to bring its creative spark to Brooklyn pin contest
The current official Brooklyn pin, designed by Brooklyn Arts Ambassador Colm Dillane. Borough President Reynoso invites Sunset Park residents and students to submit next year’s winning design.

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso invites Sunset Park’s artists and students to create the official Brooklyn pin, a small but proud emblem of the borough.

“Sunset Park is home to stunning city views, a rich industrial history, and a special type of creative energy that I can’t wait to see shine through our neighbors’ pin design submissions,” Reynoso told The Sunset Post, announcing the launch of the 2026 Brooklyn Pin design competition with Arts Ambassador Colm Dillane.

The contest invites Brooklyn residents and K–12 students enrolled in Brooklyn schools to submit creative, original designs celebrating the borough by September 30, 2025. Designs must include a legible reference to “Brooklyn” or an acceptable variant like BK or BKLYN, and will be produced as a pin about 1.3 to 1.5 inches wide. The winning design will be unveiled and initially distributed at the 2026 State of the Borough address, Reynoso’s annual keynote speech where he reflects on accomplishments and outlines priorities for the upcoming year. Full guidelines and applications are available at brooklynbp.nyc.gov/arts.

Dillane, the founder of the Brooklyn-based streetwear label KidSuper, was named the borough’s inaugural Arts Ambassador in 2025 and charged with designing this year’s pin, which features the bubble-letter font he developed as a Brooklyn Tech student.

“I am super excited and grateful to be working with the Brooklyn Borough President to help select the next artist who will have the honor of redesigning the Brooklyn pin,” said Dillane. “Brooklyn is home to so many incredible artists, and I hope this initiative builds a legacy that continues for many, many years to come.”

The Brooklyn pin tradition began under former Borough President Marty Markowitz, who served from 2002 to 2013. Known affectionately as “Mr. Brooklyn” for his exuberant promotion of the borough, Markowitz introduced the gold-script “Brooklyn” pin, modeled after the lettering of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team.

Reynoso and Dillane will review this year’s submissions and select the winning design.

“The Brooklyn pin is the people’s pin,” Reynoso said. “It should reflect the creativity and pride that make our borough unique.”