ANOTHER WRITER NOT LEAVING BROOKLYN

Another writer who isn't leaving Brooklyn, Steven Berlin Johnson, author of "Everything Bad is Good for You" (one of the greatest titles) and "The Ghost Map," wrote this letter to his friends, Douglas and Barbara Rushkoff. Douglas was mugged on Christmas Eve and Barbara recently blogged on her Babble blog that they are thinking of leaving town. Here's an excerpt from Johnson's letter. Read more at his blog.

Doug (and Barbara)

I've said it before in private to Doug, but I'll start by saying it publicly: I'm so sorry you had to go through this ordeal, and you've both done an amazing job trying to work through all these issues in public. It's precisely the kind of conversation that should be happening in venues like this, because it's all about the clash between our public and private lives.

You guys sound like you've already made up your mind to leave, which is completely understandable, and some of the towns you're talking about are wonderful places to live. But I wanted to make the case for Brooklyn, if only because some of the reasons you cite for leaving are central to why we've decided to raise our kids here. If we can't persuade you not to leave, maybe we can persuade you that Brooklyn is not "a crock."