Downing Street Playgroup 1st Annual Winter Auction

The Downing Street Playgroup Cooperative was conceived during the summer of 1969 by Mary Spilotros and Margaret Hable, two mothers with preschool-aged children living in the general neighborhood of the Downing Street Playground. After numerous conversations with other parents they realized that there was an interest and need for a cooperative effort to provide a playgroup atmosphere for their children. Spilotros and Hable were made aware of the existence of a second floor room in the playground building that was being used as a workroom and storage area for the City Puppeteer. Several local officials and other interested individuals acted on the Playgroup’s behalf to contact the City Administration. After extensive discussions with various City officials, the puppeteer relocated to a comparable facility and terms were finalized in which the City allowed the Playgroup to use and occupy the premises of the second floor room, our present location at 32 Carmine Street. By allowing neighborhood residents the free use of City property to operate a quasi-private playgroup, The Playgroup Cooperative posed a unique challenge to municipal officials. It was decided that enrollment would be open to neighborhood children and that the expenses for a director, personnel or equipment would not be the responsibility of the City but solely that of the group. And still, the tuition remains low, as the group takes on every job except those of the two employed teachers. The City could not ethically allow the playgroup to use the building for restricted or private functions. Hence, the City’s insistence upon the widest possible publicity in the neighborhood and its further insistence that as vacancies occurred, every effort be expended to enroll as many children as the park room could accommodate--fifteen. now onto the event...DSP is holding its FIRST EVER winter auction to raise money for the school. items up for bid include yankees home opener tickets, five-star hotel in ixtapa, a one-of-a-kind upholstered chair from anthropologie, paul frank children's apparel, a golf outing in nantucket and more. $65 buys you a ticket to the event where food and drinks will be served...and you get a paddle for the live auction!