Who are ‘Brooklyn’s 50 Most Fascinating People’?

By Brian Braiker

The BK50 is back!

Coming this May, Brooklyn Magazine will be be announcing our second annual list of “Brooklyn’s 50 Most Fascinating People” … a compendium of folks who, for better or worse, we can’t take our eyes off of. Here is last year’s list in case you missed it.

Of course, it’s only February. So this is where you come in! We’re looking for submissions, suggestions, tips and admonitions. Who are the most fascinating (not necessarily young, famous, powerful, nice or sexy) people in Brooklyn right now? Tell us before March 4. Email us here, at bk50@bkmag.com. Brooklyn Magazine staffers will then sift through your suggestions with input from a diverse team of prominent local jurors. (We will not be reading submissions that come from publicists, flaks, PR firms or paid promoters.)

Want more info? Keep reading!

What it is
We know what you’re thinking: Another list???

Here’s the thing: Yes. But! This isn’t your average clickbait ad-grab list. It’s a little more … fascinating.

We want to highlight the most engrossing people in the borough right now, across multiple disciplines. These are Brooklyn’s main characters and wacky neighbors, shaping its future and carving out its character. These are folks you think you know and the folks you need to know. They are the power brokers and they are also the people who you haven’t heard of—yet—who are quietly doing the work. This work makes us think, it makes us feel, it connects us to the borough in meaningful ways as the borough itself is limping towards its third year of pandemic.

The people on this list will be chosen by a jury of Brooklynites who themselves would merit a place high on the list. They are experts in their respective fields. They know what’s happening and what’s coming next.

When it is
We’ll publish the list in full online and in the summer print edition of Brooklyn Magazine in May.

What can you do?
Email us here to tell us who you think deserves to be on this list and why! We’re not kidding about publicists, though. We won’t read anything submitted from a PR pro.

Categories
The mind craves order as much as the internet craves lists. So here, loosely, are the categories Brooklyn’s 50 Most Fascinating will fall under. This, like so much in life, is a bit squishy and subject to change:

• Arts: These would be performers, creators, musicians, actors, artists, gallerists, filmmakers, dancers
• Leisure: Aesthetes, athletes, fashionistas and lifestyle legends
• Community: Leaders, organizers, activists, proselytizers, antigonizers
• Commerce: Small businesses, big businesses and everything in between
• Food & drink: Chefs, mixologists, restaurateurs, bakers, baristas, brewers and food truck guys