A wealthy do-gooder hid roughly $3,000 in envelopes in Manhattan and Brooklyn — prompting a mad dash for cash on Saturday.
Hundreds of money-hungry New Yorkers flocked to Central Park and Prospect Park, lifting rocks and rooting under bushes to find the free dough, stuffed in a total of 59 envelopes.
“I’m excited! It’s a great idea. It’s like a treasure hunt!” said Sharif Reed, 29, of Yonkers, who rushed to Central Park with his girlfriend on Saturday morning.
“This guy is giving back in a way that’s really cool. People are out here with their families on a beautiful day, ” he said.
The envelopes — most filled with $50 and a silver dollar — were given away by the group Hidden Cash, headed by self-proclaimed philanthropist Jason Buzi. Some lucky winners found $100 bills in the white envelopes.
Hidden Cash stashed 40 envelopes in Central Park, by a pond near 59th Street and Fifth Avenue.
In Prospect Park, it hid 19 envelopes along a trail near the park’s 15th Street entrance.
The group posted the locations of the money , along with clues, on Twitter as part of its “social experiment for good.”
Winners — who discovered the money under rocks and trees — were rich with excitement on social media, posting photos of themselves flaunting the cash.
Winner Burggraaf @RobBurggraaf added, ‘Thank you so much @HiddenCash!!!!”
Prospect Park participants used sticks to root around under dead leaves.
Some of the envelopes still hadn’t been found in both parks on Saturday afternoon.
But cash hunters refused to stop their search.
“We haven’t found anything yet — but we’re not giving up,” said Andreina Tactuk, a high school student.