Feb 22, 2008 6:03 AM, PROMO Xtra, By Amy Johannes

A New York shopping center is giving away $20,000 via street teams to help jumpstart the economy.

A New York shopping center is giving people an incentive to visit its shops: Free cash.

The Shops at Atlas Park, an outdoor air shopping mall in Glendale, NY, is giving away $20,000 in cash as part of a two-month-long promotion to spur spending at its stores and to help boost the economy.

Starting today, street teams dressed as Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam will hand out $1 bills to $100 bills and stickers to passersby throughout Queens that read, “I support the economy.” The stickers drive recipients to www.TheAtlasSolution.com to find out more about the promotion.

The campaign, called The Atlas Solution, also includes an instant-win component. People who wear the stickers when visiting The Shops at Atlas Park and are spotted by street teams will have a chance to win cash prizes ranging from $1 to $1,000. Other on-site giveaways include gift certificates and Monopoly games and play-money sets for kids.

Atlas Park Owner Damon Hemmerdinger launched the effort to spark consumer confidence in spending and give people a boost while their wait for the federal government’s economic stimulus checks to arrive. And Hemmerdinger is offering another freebie: People who visit the center through June will receive free parking.

“It’s a feel good program,” said Caroline Kerpen, a vice president at theKbuzz, the strategic marketing firm handling the promotion. “It’s a great way to get traffic into Atlas Park. We want to help consumers feel comfortable about spending.”

TheKBuzz is also filming those cash recipients about what they plans to do with the free cash, and uploading the clips on YouTube and on the Atlas Solution Web site.

Street teams kicked off the campaign this week handing out $1 bills and stickers to people in Queens, NY, and Astoria, NY.

Hemmerdinger has issued a challenge to other national shopping centers to run similar promotions. If every center participated, the effort would bring in $340 million into the economy, Kerpen said.

Local print ads, billboards and online marketing support the promotion.

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