‘Sammy’ comes to life at Atlas Park

The carousel in Glendale’s Atlas Park mall has a brand new horse. On Sunday, June 8, artist George Alonso painted the horse in the mall’s park by taking instructions from the designer of the horse, 9-year-old Samantha Kerr, of Ozone Park.
The Queens Courier and The Shops at Atlas Park, at 8000 Cooper Avenue and 80th Street, recently collaborated in a contest for schoolchildren to name and design one of the horses on the mall’s carousel. Kerr was the winner of the contest.
She gave the horse her own name - Sammy - because it’s easy to remember and she designed Sammy in her favorite colors - magenta, purple, light blue and light green. “I was like, I’m probably not even going to win because it’s too colorful,” Kerr said.
“Sammy feels like he’s getting a spa treatment,” said Alonso while applying gold paint to the saddle of the horse.
“You’re doing really well on the gold,” Kerr complimented Alonso.
“They [Kerr and Alonso] are a good team,” said Chuck Steinmann, manager of the horse-painting event.
The purpose of the contest was to encourage children to be creative, Steinmann explained.
This competition will turn into an annual event so that each year a child can design a carousel horse, he added.
In the coming days, Sammy will be placed on Atlas Park’s carousel, which will be available until June 29, Steinmann said. Every year the carousel is in the park between April and June.
As a contest winner, Kerr earned a lifetime pass to riding the carousel at Atlas Park.