Another giveway, another melee in Union Square:
A video-sharing Web site set out to celebrate Leap Day by handing out prizes worth up to $29 outside Union Square Park but wound up triggering a melee.It's the most disastrous Union Square publicity stunt since the time the World's Largest Ice Pop melted down and blocked traffic for hours. Posted by Stephen Silver at March 2, 2008 07:52 PM
As the clock ticked toward the Friday event's scheduled time - 2:29 p.m. - people shouting "Make it rain!" and "Give me my money!" trampled one another and mobbed the costumed representatives of CashTomato.comSome people wrested bags of cash-stuffed envelopes and other items from the CashTomato workers, said Jason Buzi, who identified himself as the company's senior vice president. "It turned out to be a lot of aggressive people," he said. "Maybe next time, I would plan this better."