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City of Syracuse and Adapt CNY Announce City Flag Redesign Process

Published on February 17, 2022

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The City of Syracuse is announcing the citizen-driven process to design a new city flag. Together with Adapt CNY, a non-profit civic community organization in Syracuse, the City will form a Syracuse Flag Committee to engage residents and stakeholders in the redesign initiative. The committee’s goal is to create a new flag concept representing the history, culture, and community of Syracuse.

“A city flag is an opportunity for a community to express its identity,” said Syracuse Common Councilor At-Large Michael Greene. “Our current flag does not represent the Syracuse of today. This process is an exciting opportunity to show who we are as a city.”

Over the next month, Adapt CNY is seeking nominations from individuals interested in serving on the Syracuse Flag Committee, the citizen-led group that will guide the flag redesign process throughout 2022. The committee will engage and collect input on the emblematic features, landmarks, and events that make Syracuse what it is today. This input will inform design guidelines for prospective designers. After receiving submissions, the committee will advance selections to the public and the Syracuse Common Council for consideration.

First announced in late 2019, the initiative experienced delays as a result of challenges related to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, but is again moving forward with expanded community interest and support.

“After going through a similar process, citizens in other places have adopted new municipal flags as icons representative of their community,” said Andrew Frasier of Adapt CNY. “We are looking forward to connecting and engaging with Syracusans to help create a flag that we can all be proud of.”

In the past several years, many municipalities have engaged their citizens to create new flag designs to better foster a sense of community and civic pride. Following the North American Vexillological Association’s (NAVA) city flag survey of 2004, cities like Milwaukee, WI; Tulsa, OK; and Irvine, CA initiated city flag redesign contests with great results. Tulsa’s redesign initiative was so successful that a local brewery produced cans emblazoned with the new flag design, much to the approval of the community.

“A flag is so much more than a piece of fabric. It is a symbol that represents the past, present, and future of a place as well as the character of the people who live there,” said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. “I’m grateful to Adapt CNY and Councilor Greene for driving this initiative and ensuring that community involvement is an integral part of this process. By working together, we can adopt a flag that better represents our city to ourselves and the rest of the world.”

There are multiple ways for people to engage with Syracuse’s flag redesign initiative. Information will be available under Initiatives on the City’s website and also at www.syracuseflag.com, where the public can provide direct feedback, track progress, and connect with others through social media by using the #SyracuseFlag hashtag.

For those who wish to get involved in the Syracuse Flag Committee, Adapt CNY is asking people to go online to www.syracuseflag.com or contact the organization directly at flag@adaptcny.org.