Atlas Park giveaway grows to $50 in cash

The Shops at Atlas Park upped the ante in their $20,000 giveaway - doling out $50 per person during an event at the Glendale mall. In addition, the top handout in the three-month contest could run as high as $1,000, organizers said.
During the second week of The Atlas Solution, this time held at The Shops, located at 8000 Cooper Avenue in Glendale, organizers handed out $50 to 11 surprised shoppers. A week earlier, organizers gave out $200 in total to about 200 people in Forest Hills.
Gloria Antonsanti of Ridgewood, who won $50, said she planned to go shopping with the dough.
“I’m going to buy shoes, I don’t know, spring clothing,” she said excitedly.
Her 12-year-old son Max, who received a Monopoly board game, had something else in mind - new sneakers, maybe a pair of Nike Air Jordans, which can retail for more than $100.
“Oh please,” Antonsanti said of her son’s pricey shoe request.
Either way, The Shops officials hoped that Antonsanti and 10 other recipients would plunk down their recently received cash at mall registers.
“The Atlas Solution is really my way of showing that individuals can make a difference, and that the industry I am a part of can make a big difference if we join forces,” said Atlas Park Owner Damon Hemmerdinger in a statement explaining why he withdrew the $20,000 from his savings to give away. Hemmerdinger hopes that other shopping centers will also step up, give away money, to spur commerce and increase consumer confidence and thereby prevent a recession.
Over the next two months, anyone spotted wearing an “I Support the Economy” sticker or with an AtlasSolution.com sticker displayed on their car parked at The Shops at Atlas Park will be eligible to win an instant cash prize. The Glendale mall will also offer free parking through April, plus on-site giveaways, including store gift certificates and Monopoly games. Moreover, the Atlas Park team plans to continue to hit the streets at random.
Economist Frank D. Tinari, President of The Tinari Economics Group, explained, “If a person has dollars in his hand and he hands it to someone else, that will not stimulate the economy, but if someone like Damon [Hemmerdinger] takes money out of his savings or his profits and puts it back into consumers’ hands, it will have a stimulating effect.”
Tinari said according to basic economic principles, “Once a person spends a dollar that dollar does not stop there. That dollar then goes into the hands of someone else, who turns around and spends it again. It’s called a multiplier effect.”
Because the money was free, the recipients said that they likely would take The Shops’ suggestion and spend, spend, spend.
“I’m going right over to Border’s,” said Middle Village resident Angelo Bandera, clutching the crisp bill given to him by “Lady Liberty” and “Uncle Sam.” With the money, he planned to peruse the book chain’s selection of American history reads.
However, Bandera said recently he had been trying to cut back.
“We used to go out to eat one or two times per week, now it’s every other week,” he said of nights out with his wife.
His reason for saving - Bandera fears that the nation may be heading into a slump and that the results of the November election will solidify the country’s economic direction.
“A lot of people are waiting to see what happens this upcoming election. Sometimes a new president comes in and can kick start the economy,” he said hopefully.