Exciting News!

My cousin* published a book! Yep, that's right. And it looks fascinating too.


Then & Now: Gravesend, Brooklyn, by Joseph Ditta

Permanently settled in 1645, the farming town of Gravesend, Long Island, was annexed to the city (now borough) of Brooklyn, New York, in 1894. Few reminders from Gravesend’s rural days survive around the urban landscape it has become. Even its more recent past is quickly disappearing. In Gravesend, Brooklyn lifelong resident Joseph Ditta, reference librarian at the New-York Historical Society, traces the evolution of this historic neighborhood through a fascinating selection of rare and never-before-published views.


You can get a taste of the book in this guest blog post Joseph did at the Brooklyn Historical Society's Blog. Please do check it out - I found it fascinating, and it has pictures. :)

Congratulations to Joseph! I can't wait to get my hands on his book and I wish him all possible success with it.

You can buy his book through these links to the publisher's website, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble. You can also become a fan on Facebook - just search "Gravesend" and the page will come up.


* In Italian families we refer to all relatives as cousins - it makes things much simpler. But here's how I'm actually related to Joseph: His grandmother was my grandfather's sister. Our moms are cousins, and actually have the same name. I really haven't had much contact with Joseph or the rest of our New York-based family in many years, but I have fond memories of visits with him (and everyone else) as a child. I'm thrilled about this new book and wish Joseph all the success in the world.