STANDING Brooklyn’s Biggest Booster
Boro Hall celebrates longtime staffer
BY ROSE ADAMS
Elected offi cials and local luminaries
gathered on Jan. 10 to celebrate the
career of longtime Borough Hall staffer
Sandra Chapman — who’s retiring after
35 years on the job!
The Borough Hall festivities began
with speeches by fellow staffers, borough
presidents Eric Adams and Marty
Markowitz, who looked back at Chapman’s
successful career as the Hall’s
Chief Programs Offi cer.
Frank Seddio, soon-t0-be former
Kings County Democratic Party boss,
also lauded Chapman’s work and selfl ess
personality, calling her his “homie.”
“She’s unique. She never has an ego
in what she does,” he said
After the emotional tributes, attendees
made their way to a reception, where
Lima Calbio, a former member of the Jamaican
band Byron Lee and the Dragonaires,
and pianist Ricardo Jerome
entertained patrons as they feasted on
Caribbean treats.
Chapman said that she loved the
party, and was grateful to be surrounded
by so many longtime friends
“The party was great!” she said. “I
was overwhelmed by the number of people
in attendance.”
Chapman got her start under Borough
President Howard Golden, where
she worked to save 110 community gardens
from being auctioned. When Marty
Markowitz became borough president
in 2002, Chapman was appointed Deputy
Borough President, and she continued
working in the offi ce under Adams
after his election in 2014, where she has
served as Chief Programs Offi cer.
Chapman said that her favorite part
of working in Borough Hall was collaborating
with passionate community
members and helping them better their
neighborhoods.
“I loved being able to witness phenomenal
everyday people doing phenomenal
work,” she said.
COURIER L 46 IFE, JANUARY 17-23, 2020
BY JESSICA PARKS
A Crown Heights hairstylist will
treat women suffering hair loss to a
makeover and spa day once a month
this year, starting with a Bedford-
Stuyvesant resident suffering multiple
sclerosis, who couldn’t be happier
with the results.
“I have experienced lots of symptoms
that come with the disease as
far as hair loss, which was hurtful to
me because I am a woman and that’s
our crowning glory,” said 32-yearold
Diamond Samaroo. “For me to be
able to get like a facial, massage, my
hair done and makeup, it’s a great experience.
I am still in disbelief it is actually
happening for me.”
Stylist Donna Prescott hosted
Samaroo for a “Beauty Day” at her
salon Alter Image — located on St.
John’s Place between Hampton Place
and Albany Avenue — where she was
treated to facial, makeup, a complimentary
wig, and a photo-shoot to remember
it all by.
Prescott said she was inspired by
her mother’s experience with hair
loss, which led her to want to provide
comfort to other women in a similar
situation.
“It’s been something that has been
in my heart for a while, I had a situation
with my mom where she lost her
hair,” said Donna Prescott. “I wanted
to do this just to treat someone extra
special because I know how hard it
can be.”
Each recipient is selected at the
start of month, when Prescott asks
w0men suffering severe hair loss
to direct message their personal
stories to her salon’s Instagram account.
BY JESSICA PARKS
Marine Park middle schoolers
dazzled crowds at two packed
shows of Frozen Jr. last weekend,
where the decadently-dressed
young actors wowed guests with
their rendition of the iconic Disney
story, according to PS 207’s
performing arts teacher.
“It was received so well, we
had sold-out houses for both
performances,” said Kimberly
Simak. “The audience was saying
it was one of the best shows,
which meant so much with there
being such an iconic fi lm for it to
be compared to.”
Frozen Jr. is based on the
2018 Broadway musical — which
uses all the beloved songs from
the Disney fi lm, plus additional
songs written for the live production
— which Simek said she
chose to adapt because of the talent
exhibited by her students.
“I selected Frozen because
I knew that we had a really talented
group of students who
could not only do the parts justice
but also make them their
own,” Simek said. “And that’s exactly
what they did.”
Simek said she and the play’s
45-member cast made the production
uniquely their own by
getting creative with props and
special effects.
“I think it made it so much
more magical because we didn’t
have these thousands of dollar
set pieces, but still had a really
successful production,” she said.
The students in the performance
belong to the Fillmore
Academy Drama Club — an after
school program sponsored
by Millenium Development —
and have been rehearsing since
September.
The aspiring actors also
had some time after the show
to revel in their celebrity when
they took pictures with their
younger peers, who dressed up
in Anna and Elsa costumes for
the show.
Diamond Samaroo, left, looks fantastic after spending the day with Alter Image hairstylist
Donna Prescott, right. Photo courtesy of Alter Image Salon
Stylist treats women to special day
Middle-school students at Marine
Park’s PS 207 performed Frozen Jr.
Photo by Corazon Aguirre
Marine Park kids
preform Frozen!
Representative Yvette Clarke and Dr. Una S. T. Clarke congratulated
Sandra Chapman on her retirement. Photos by Zoe Freilich
Sandra Chapman, a long-time Borough Hall staffer, celebrated her
retirement with members of the Borough Hall offi ce.