Reported for the Flatiron Hot! News by Tod Shapiro

The Flatiron Public Plaza continues to be the go-to site for promotional events of a public, private, and as least for today, a charitable nature!  This past Tuesday I saw one that was especially interesting, and well-intentioned.  Hyundai was touting its donation of over $160 million to the fight against pediatric cancer as part of it’s “Hope on Wheels” (hashtag #EndChildhoodCancer) program.  Hyundai had one of its late model SUVs decked out with stencil cutouts of hands, with passers-by filling them out with their signatures as

an act of solidarity.  They had a stage and DJ leading a group of interested Flatiron denizens in some dance moves, while their staff answered questions about the program.  It was a good change of pace from the over-the-top commercial ventures we so often see in the Public Plazas as the warm weather in Flatiron and Chelsea beckons.  Yours truly filled out a hand stencil, and I gave my best wishes to the Hyundai staffers. The only discordant note was, alas, the unwelcome disclaimer absolving Hyundai from gaining the written permission of attendees for the use of their digital images in the promotion (required under New York State Law), a big problem that has been documented by the Community Board for these events in public spaces.  Above are some pics from this happy event!