JULY 9, 2025 — North Tonawanda, New York, marked a significant milestone in its civic identity on Tuesday when Mayor Austin Tylec unveiled the city’s first new flag in 58 years during a ceremony outside City Hall, reports the Buffalo News.
The new flag, designed by Jeremy Sniatecki, a 52-year-old graphic designer and former North Tonawanda resident, was selected from 32 designs submitted by 20 artists as part of a community-wide contest. Sniatecki, who now lives in Rochester, has built an impressive career creating licensed collectibles and artwork for major entertainment companies including Disney, Lucasfilm, Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, and the Buffalo Bills.
The flag features a blue and yellow color scheme with a large anchor as its central focal point, set against a sunrise backdrop. The sunrise symbolizes “the new era dawning for North Tonawanda’s waterfronts and surrounding communities,” according to the designer’s statement.
Within the anchor sits a carousel horse silhouette, directly inspired by an actual horse displayed at the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum. This element pays homage to North Tonawanda’s rich history as a carousel manufacturing centre, when the city was known as “the Home of the Carousel” and produced an estimated 50 percent of all wooden carousels in the United States.
Behind the anchor, the flag depicts the Erie Canal, flanked by the counterweight railroad bridge on one side and the Wurlitzer building, which once housed a well-known musical organ manufacturer, on the other. These elements represent the city’s industrial heritage and its connection to both transportation infrastructure and musical innovation, as North Tonawanda was once America’s capital for automatic band organ production.
“This new flag represents our history, our progress, our shared identity. It’s a symbol that belongs to all of us and one we hope future generations will carry with pride,” said Mayor Tylec.
Sniatecki was unable to attend the ceremony, but received a $1,000 prize, half of which he donated to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department for youth programs.
Image: WNY Photos via Facebook
