This is right up there with handing out free gasoline!

Does David Tepper own stock in Target ?

Where's mine!!!

Of course Viola was mad, she wasn't able to get one.......

How did they know about this going on, I never read anything about the gift cards being handed out but I heard about it 2 days later.
They were being given out in lincoln park 2 weeks ago on a wednesday.
What info was out there for the public to know this was going on that day?

Why is JC so Ghetto? Good question...

An effort by a Livingston billionaire to hand out free $100 gift cards to Jersey City residents affected by Hurricane Sandy turned into a fiasco last week after some residents who spent hours on line say they were later not able to obtain the gift cards.

The effort led to long lines at some community groups last Monday night as people sought to register for the cards and long lines again two days later when residents showed up to pick them up, according to residents, community leaders and organizers of the charity effort.

Two City Councilwoman blasted the effort at last night?s council meeting, saying it was poorly run and led to seniors and handicapped people waiting in the cold for hours to no avail. One woman had to be sent to the hospital, they said.

?It really teed me off,? said Councilwoman at large Viola Richardson. ?It really tore up the community.?

Better Education Institute, the nonprofit arm of education-reform group Better Education for Kids, both funded by billionaire David Tepper, organized the giveaway, which seeks to hand out $100 Target gift cards to 13,000 people statewide, and nearly 2,500 here in Jersey City.

Larry Rogers, the nonprofit?s treasurer, said the effort was ?fully vetted? by city officials. Better Education Institute made every effort to get gift cards to everyone who was eligible, and even to those were unable to stand in line, Rogers said.

?I am baffled by the fact that a member of the City Council would complain that I gave $230,000 to the inhabitants of her city to better their lives,? he said.

Richardson and Ward F Councilwoman Diane Coleman last night alleged that seniors and the handicapped weren?t able to move ahead in line or wait inside to register last week.

According to Rogers, law enforcement told him he could not create separate lines for seniors.

?We initially attempted to do that but the citizens of your fair city almost created a riot if someone was allowed to get ahead of them, even if they were in a wheelchair,? he said.

The nonprofit subsequently handed out gift cards in Hoboken and Keansburg without any issues, Rogers noted.

A woman who asked not to be identified said she waited for hours on line on Monday night to register at the Morris Canal Community Development Corp., only to find out on Wednesday that she wasn?t registered to pick up a card.

Meanwhile, two people who registered with her were able to get the cards, she said.

?It was a disservice,? the woman said. ?It was a great gesture, it was just really unorganized.?

JJ